KBC shows interest in acquiring BPH branches in the wake of Unicredito deal

"We've always stated that we wanted to increase our participation in the market. In every country we try to have at least 10%. We're waiting for the details of BPH's sale," said KBC spokesperson, Viviane Huybrecht. KBC controls 85.5% of Kredyt Bank's shares and 100% of the insurance company Warta. In December, the company announced that they had EUR3 billion for acquisitions in the region. Other bank groups have not yet shown overt interest in buying the BPH branches. Raiffeisen International, which is interested in developing on the Polish market, is waiting for details and so is the Hungarian OTP Bank, which has recently taken part in every tender concerning banking institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Other institutions, such as BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, refrained from making comments. (Parkiet, p. 4) M.K.