Pekao lent zł. 498 million to ailing shipyard

Bank Pekao, the country's largest listed bank, said after the close of trading last Thursday that its total lending to the troubled Szczecin Shipyard was zł. 497.8 million ($124.45 million), just below market expectations. The yard filed for bankruptcy earlier this week after a government-led bailout fell through. The case has raised concerns about the quality of loan portfolios at Poland's largest listed banks. "The amount Pekao announced today is in line with the market consensus of about zł. 500 million-zł. 600 million … so I don't think today's announcement will have any effect on the share price," said Dariusz Górski, a banking analyst at ING Securities. Earlier Pekao, a unit of Italy's Unicredito, had said the loans could knock about zł. 150 million ($37.5 million) off this year's bottom line, but the bank added that it was taking steps to ensure it met its 2002 net profit forecast. - Reuters