One man, two banks
Kostrzewa served as president of PBR in the early 1990s, leaving two years ago to join BRE as deputy president. The 37-year-old enjoys a reputation in the Polish banking community as one of the sector's most dynamic executives. BRE's board seems to agree with that assessment - in May it elected Kostrzewa as the bank's new president, replacing Krzysztof Szwarc, who will become chairman of the supervisory board.
A graduate of the economics department at Germany's University of Kiel, Kostrzewa helped build PBR from the ground up. He guided the bank for almost five years, leading it through its initial public offering (IPO) in June 1995.
"I think very highly of him," said Hubert Janiszewski, managing director of HSBC Investment Services, privatization adviser to PBR during its public offering. "He is a representative of the new generation."
Janiszewski said Kostrzewa embraces risky moves. He said BRE's recent public offer for all of PBR's shares is solid proof of that. On April 2, BRE offered zl. 22.50 a share for PBR's shares, a 13% premium to the bank's trading price that day. That move surprised the bank's other suitors - Sweden's Skandinaviska Enskilda (S-E-Banken) and Germany's Bayerische Landesbank (BLB), both of whom were waiting for the Treasury Ministry to issue an official tender for its 30% stake in the bank.
"He was the last one to join the race, but at the moment he seems to be outdistancing the competition," Janiszewski said.
Analysts said Kostrzewa has helped build BRE into a player in the brokerage industry and also worked to expand its corporate banking business.
"They became very active on the capital markets," Janiszewski said. "As a competitor, I can't say I like it."
A graduate of the economics department at Germany's University of Kiel, Kostrzewa helped build PBR from the ground up. He guided the bank for almost five years, leading it through its initial public offering (IPO) in June 1995.
"I think very highly of him," said Hubert Janiszewski, managing director of HSBC Investment Services, privatization adviser to PBR during its public offering. "He is a representative of the new generation."
Janiszewski said Kostrzewa embraces risky moves. He said BRE's recent public offer for all of PBR's shares is solid proof of that. On April 2, BRE offered zl. 22.50 a share for PBR's shares, a 13% premium to the bank's trading price that day. That move surprised the bank's other suitors - Sweden's Skandinaviska Enskilda (S-E-Banken) and Germany's Bayerische Landesbank (BLB), both of whom were waiting for the Treasury Ministry to issue an official tender for its 30% stake in the bank.
"He was the last one to join the race, but at the moment he seems to be outdistancing the competition," Janiszewski said.
Analysts said Kostrzewa has helped build BRE into a player in the brokerage industry and also worked to expand its corporate banking business.
"They became very active on the capital markets," Janiszewski said. "As a competitor, I can't say I like it."
