Out of the banks and onto the road

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced its intention to focus on investing in infrastructural projects in Poland.

Alain Pilloux, business group director for Central Europe at the EBRD, said: "You can expect us in various infrastructure projects here, for example motorways, municipal-development projects, energy efficiency, and many other projects which are eligible for EU funds."

The EBRD was the development bank for the former Soviet bloc. Currently, it is the second-largest foreign investor in Poland after France Telecom, with EUR 3.4 (zł.13.5) billion invested in the country.

The announcement comes as the ERBD tries to decrease its presence in the financial sector in Central Europe, as many local lenders have completed restructuring and are set for rapid growth.

In June the EBRD halved its stake in Pekao - Poland's second largest bank - to 1.65 percent. The EBRD now has zł.470 million invested in the bank. However, Pilloux says the EBRD is moving at its own pace: "There is no urgency for us to sell out of the Polish banking sector." The EBRD also has a 15 percent stake in Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej, a mid-sized lender in the agricultural industry. (Reuters)