International banks spread wings over Poland
The latest entrants include the Bank of America (See WBJ, March 25-31, 1996), Vereinsbank Group and Bank Austria. Meanwhile, the first wave of international banks Ą Deutsche Bank, Creditanstalt, Raiffeisen, Citibank Ą are branching out.
This expansion means more competition in the banking sector, a "welcome" addition, said Paul F. Knotter, resident representative of the World Bank, Poland.
"Competition ... is really beneficial for the development of the sector," Knotter said, adding this should help in pricing, access and quality of services.
The Bank of America recently received central bank and Finance Ministry approval to open a representative office in Warsaw. "We see Poland as the largest and most important country in Central Europe," said Daniel Wood, a bank vice president who will manage the Warsaw office.
The Warsaw office, expected to open by late June, will provide access to corporate lending, trade finance, raising capital, project financing, risk management and advisory services. Representatives from the bank's Global Equity Investment Group will seek venture capital investments.
The third largest bank in Germany Ą Bayerische Vereinsbank AG in Munich Ą opened a representative office Vereinsbank Polska SA two years ago, received a banking license in December and is working toward a July opening, said Udo Clesius, local bank president. Vereinsbank Group has offices in Hungary and the Czech Republic. "For us, Central Europe is quite important," Clesius said.
On May 24, Bank Austria announced it was opening a representative office here with an eye toward full commercial banking operations. The bank, which received its license March 8, will provide initial contact between Polish and Austrian exporters as well as arrange corporate financing, said Krzysztof Foremniak of Bank Austria. Poland is Bank Austria's sixth venture into Central Europe.
Meanwhile, Citibank, one of the first major international banks to arrive in 1991, announced last week that it plans to offer consumer banking during the first quarter of 1997.
The bank also plans to open a branch in Poznan this year, said Hanna Milczarek of Citibank. The bank has branches in Gdynia, Wroclaw and Katowice.
Creditanstalt is also expected to open branches in Wroclaw in September, Gdansk in November, Szczecin and a third Warsaw office both this year, said Jolanta Pedras in marketing. The bank has branches in Poznan and Krak-w.
Wroclaw is a priority, Pedras said, because "it's the next business center in Poland and there is a lot of foreign capital there."
Raiffeisen Zentrobank has opened branches this year in Katowice, Bydgoszcz, Krak-w and Wroclaw. It already had branches in Poznan and Gdynia.
And Deutsche Bank in Warsaw plans to branch out, but with only 18 months' experience in Poland, it wants to develop a solid customer base first, said Rainer Muller, bank president.
"Wroclaw is definitely a target destination because we have German background and because Wroclaw attracts German investment," he said.
Meanwhile, Polish banks are caught in the uncertainty of the bank consolidation plan. While a law restricting consolidation to fully state-owned banks has not received final approval, last week the prime minister and Polish bankers came up with a revised lineup for consolidation.
The government's new plan calls for Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA (Pekao SA) to head consolidation of Bank Depozytowo-Kredytowy SA, Powszechny Bank Gospodarczy SA (PBG) and Pomorski Bank Kredytowy SA (PBKS). This new plan excludes fully state-owned Bank Handlowy (BH) and the partially state-owned Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy SA (BPH) and Polski Bank Rozwoju SA (PBR).
This expansion means more competition in the banking sector, a "welcome" addition, said Paul F. Knotter, resident representative of the World Bank, Poland.
"Competition ... is really beneficial for the development of the sector," Knotter said, adding this should help in pricing, access and quality of services.
The Bank of America recently received central bank and Finance Ministry approval to open a representative office in Warsaw. "We see Poland as the largest and most important country in Central Europe," said Daniel Wood, a bank vice president who will manage the Warsaw office.
The Warsaw office, expected to open by late June, will provide access to corporate lending, trade finance, raising capital, project financing, risk management and advisory services. Representatives from the bank's Global Equity Investment Group will seek venture capital investments.
The third largest bank in Germany Ą Bayerische Vereinsbank AG in Munich Ą opened a representative office Vereinsbank Polska SA two years ago, received a banking license in December and is working toward a July opening, said Udo Clesius, local bank president. Vereinsbank Group has offices in Hungary and the Czech Republic. "For us, Central Europe is quite important," Clesius said.
On May 24, Bank Austria announced it was opening a representative office here with an eye toward full commercial banking operations. The bank, which received its license March 8, will provide initial contact between Polish and Austrian exporters as well as arrange corporate financing, said Krzysztof Foremniak of Bank Austria. Poland is Bank Austria's sixth venture into Central Europe.
Meanwhile, Citibank, one of the first major international banks to arrive in 1991, announced last week that it plans to offer consumer banking during the first quarter of 1997.
The bank also plans to open a branch in Poznan this year, said Hanna Milczarek of Citibank. The bank has branches in Gdynia, Wroclaw and Katowice.
Creditanstalt is also expected to open branches in Wroclaw in September, Gdansk in November, Szczecin and a third Warsaw office both this year, said Jolanta Pedras in marketing. The bank has branches in Poznan and Krak-w.
Wroclaw is a priority, Pedras said, because "it's the next business center in Poland and there is a lot of foreign capital there."
Raiffeisen Zentrobank has opened branches this year in Katowice, Bydgoszcz, Krak-w and Wroclaw. It already had branches in Poznan and Gdynia.
And Deutsche Bank in Warsaw plans to branch out, but with only 18 months' experience in Poland, it wants to develop a solid customer base first, said Rainer Muller, bank president.
"Wroclaw is definitely a target destination because we have German background and because Wroclaw attracts German investment," he said.
Meanwhile, Polish banks are caught in the uncertainty of the bank consolidation plan. While a law restricting consolidation to fully state-owned banks has not received final approval, last week the prime minister and Polish bankers came up with a revised lineup for consolidation.
The government's new plan calls for Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA (Pekao SA) to head consolidation of Bank Depozytowo-Kredytowy SA, Powszechny Bank Gospodarczy SA (PBG) and Pomorski Bank Kredytowy SA (PBKS). This new plan excludes fully state-owned Bank Handlowy (BH) and the partially state-owned Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy SA (BPH) and Polski Bank Rozwoju SA (PBR).
