ING Barings likely to change the name of Bank Slaski as part of merger

Bank Slaski (BS) will probably change its name and logo. The major stakeholder of the bank, ING Barings owning 55% of shares, wants to make the changes as part of the planned merger of BS with the Polish subsidiary of ING Barings. The new name of the company will be either ING Bank Slaski or ING Bank Polska or it could remain Bank Slaski. The Netherlands-based bank may be very cautious to change the name, as customer loyalty may decrease. A decision will be made after public opinion agency SMG/KRC does a survey. This is not the first time foreign investors wanted to change the name of its Polish subsidiary, but so far it has only been done among medium-sized banks. Analysts warn that such a policy may cause a threat to the interest of the Polish bank, as customers will no longer treat it as "their" bank. Other shareholders of large Polish banks do not plan to change the name of their subsidiaries except for Citibank which may change the name of Bank Handlowy. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 19)