PKO BP to open non-life insurance company

Poland’s biggest lender, PKO BP has filed motion to Financial Supervision Authority to set up non-life insurance subsidiary. The bank hopes that its new company will be operational in Q2 2015 and will choose its strategic insurance partner no sooner than in 2015. PKO plans to focus on individual customers as well as SMEs. Its bancassurance strategy envisions having two different companies, one will sell life insurance the other one non-life. The lender plans in the future to sell 50 percent stakes in both subsidiaries to potential strategic partners from the insurance sector.