Nordea Bank Polska scales down its plans

By the end of June Nordea Bank Polska will take over LG Petro Bank. This will mark the final end to the merger which began last year. "Our development strategy envisages controlling 5% of the retail banking market by 2007 [currently below 1%] and we will be the eighth largest retail bank in the country," said Wlodzimierz Kicinski, the director of Nordea Bank Polski. The current projections are way below previous ones, which saw the company as the 5th largest retail bank, controlling 10% of the market. According to analysts, this strategy can only be fulfilled through further mergers and acquisitions. The two banks closed 2002 with joint net losses of zl. 49.8 million. Therefore they are likely to embark on significant cost reductions, which will include laying off 20% of its 1,200 workforce, as well as closing some of its 49 branches. (Puls Biznesu, p. 12; Parkiet, p. 5) A.K.