Net profit reports show varied results in banking sector

Apart from Bank Zachodni WBK and giants PKO BP and Pekao, domestic banks recorded lower profits last year than they had in 2000. Pekao increased its unconsolidated net profit 65% from zl. 763 million to zl. 1.26 billion, while PKO BP's profits shot up 74% from zl. 631 million to zl. 1.1 billion. BRE Bank reported profits down from zl. 355.8 million in 2000 to zl. 336 million last year, and BHW reported net profits of zl. 185 million, down from zl. 205 million in 2000. ING Bank Slaski reported a drop from zl. 138 million to just zl. 97 million. "The difficulties that our economy is going through were the strongest influence on the condition of domestic banks," said Krzysztof Pietraszkiewicz, general director of the Polish Banks Association. "But it's not everything: we cannot forget about consolidation costs, nor costs connected to modernization and adjustment to European standards, as well as the new currency introduced in the European Union." (Prawo i Gospodarka, pp. 1, 2, 24) M.K.