Gov't nearer to a deal with Unicredito over bank merger

The talks are to finish before April 5 when the Banking Supervisory Commission is to hold its meeting on the issue. Its possible consent would pave the way for the merger, therefore the two parties want to settle the matter earlier. According to analysts the government may have realized that Poland could face serious problems with winning the case before the European courts. This may have been the reason for the recent breakthrough. In return for the consent, UCI may allow PKO BP to buy their Croatian bank, guarantee jobs or dispose of part of their Polish assets, including surplus branches after the merger. To protect competition in the Polish banking sector, the Italians may also sell some subsidiaries after the merger, e.g. a brokerage house, a factoring company, or BPH investment funds. The latter would contribute to establishing a new Polish bank, supported by private capital from Leszek Czarnecki (Getin Bank) or Zygmunt Solorz (Polsat TV). The government has refused to comment on these speculations so far. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6, Parkiet, p. 1) J.L.