Insurer Royal PBK records 2002 losses of zl. 32 million

Insurance company Royal PBK announced that it had recorded net losses of zl. 32 million by the end of 2002. The result is better than that of 2001 by zl. 3 million, however the losses still exceed premiums, which stood at zl. 27.55 million at the end of 2002 - a 20% increase over the previous year. The company's operational costs, which stand at zl. 43.3 million annually, are also surprisingly high. Royal PBK's shareholders are the British insurer Royal & SunAlliance and domestic bank BPH PBK. In November 2002, the deputy head of the Polish bank, Wojciech Sobieraj, announced a new strategy which envisaged a withdrawal from the insurer. The operation is still in progress, and the company no longer takes part in capital injections into Royal PBK. Last year, Royal & SunAlliance increased the capital of Royal PBK by zl. 18 million to reach zl. 126 million, and it currently holds a 78% stake in the insurer. (Puls Biznesu, p.3) A.K.