In the spotlight: Alessandro Profumo

The decision by the Banking Supervision Commission (KNB) to postpone its decision on the merger between Pekao and BPH gives the Italians and the Polish government time to come up with a solution to a problem which has been making headlines across Europe. Profumo met with Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz last Friday, calling the meeting constructive and expressing the hope that it was a step in the right direction. Both sides now have three weeks to find a solution that satisfies both parties before the issue comes back to the KNB.

The determined Polish government faces a tough negotiating partner in Profumo, who in 2002 was named European Banker of the Year. The 49 year-old Profumo started his professional career as a clerk in Banco Lariano, making his way up the corporate ladder and eventually becoming the bank's director. After spells in the consulting business and in the insurance sector, he joined Unicredito Italiano - the country's oldest bank, which at that time had just been privatized. The lender, which was considered inefficient, quickly turned into the leading player in the Italian market and began foreign expansion. In 1999 Unicredito became the largest shareholder in Pekao SA. Last year it acquired German Hypovereinsbank (HVB), the owner of BPH, which led to the present controversy in the Polish market.