PBK incorporates Bank Austria Creditanstalt Poland

Powszechny Bank Kredytowy (PBK) has incorporated Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA/CA) Poland, previously a Polish subsidiary of Austrian BA/CA, which is strategic investor of PBK. Over the next three months both entities will unify computer systems and products. "We were providing services for 12,000 individuals, whose deposits constituted 42% of our portfolio. Credits for them amounted to a quarter of our loan portfolio," said Jacek Moscicki, former BA/CA Poland head and now deputy-president of PBK. "Thanks to the merger we became the third largest Polish bank in terms of value of assets, deposits and credits. The share of our strategic investor increased to 56.9%," said PBK president Andrzej Podsiadlo. Since capital exchange was made by share issue of PBK for the strategic investor, the company now has sufficient capital for development. According to Podsiadlo, services should be available via the Internet in 70% of outlets by next month. "PBK has high stock liquidity and good products, but lacks quality service," said CDM Pekao analyst Artur Szeski. In December, when BA/CA merges with HypoVereinsbank (HVB), a strategic investor of BPH, PBK will begin talks about close co-operation with BPH. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 6)