Public firm scouts private banking
The state-owned enterprise and country's largest bank has not enjoyed some of the benefits of foreign ownership that many of its rivals have. Many foreign-owned banks - Citibank Handlowy, for instance - have received the know-how and experience of their parent companies, which allowed them to quickly transfer skills to Poland. Nevertheless, PKO, which launched its private banking division a couple of years ago, counts itself as having a healthy roster of high-net-worth clients.
"Our position on the market is quite strong in terms of the number of wealthy clients," says Renata Janczura, director in the private banking division. However, she explained that this doesn't translate into the bank being an out-and-out market leader. "Of course we are not managing all the assets of these wealthy individuals," she points out. "These clients have their capital in two or three banks."
And it's in that environment that the bank sees opportunity.
"We are just on the beginning of the road," she says.
That route has already guided bankers to designing a more or less two-tiered wealthy banking unit: One level provides for clients with around zł.10,000 in monthly income and zł.500,000 in savings. The next level is for those with a monthly salary of zł.5000 and zł.50,000 in savings.
For those clients, PKO offers a litany of different services, such as negotiable interest rate current accounts, easy-answer credit approvals, foreign exchange instruments, as well as what seems to be one of the fastest growing elements in asset management - investment funds.
"We're geared toward those who would like to use more [sophisticated] financial products," Janczura says.
In the future, PKO will add more closely monitored financial advisory services, more frequent reports and asset management suggestions. Further, she says, "We also are planning on implementing more products especially for wealthy clients... for the end of this year."
Though she does not go into more detail about new products, the bank's considerations dovetail with competitors. As reported in last week's Business Journal, Citibank is in the process of adding to its private banking division in Poland, and Jyske Bank Polska, a Danish firm, has just opened up shop here, hoping to tap into the underserved private banking market.
PKO, for its part, is still in the process of privatization, something that - should it fall in the right hands - could further develop its private banking division at one shot.
Treasury Minister Jacek Socha has recently urged that a PKO sale was imperative if the country plans to come close to its privatization targets this year. Indeed, he estimated that a 30 percent stake could raise as much as zł.6 billion.
"Our position on the market is quite strong in terms of the number of wealthy clients," says Renata Janczura, director in the private banking division. However, she explained that this doesn't translate into the bank being an out-and-out market leader. "Of course we are not managing all the assets of these wealthy individuals," she points out. "These clients have their capital in two or three banks."
And it's in that environment that the bank sees opportunity.
"We are just on the beginning of the road," she says.
That route has already guided bankers to designing a more or less two-tiered wealthy banking unit: One level provides for clients with around zł.10,000 in monthly income and zł.500,000 in savings. The next level is for those with a monthly salary of zł.5000 and zł.50,000 in savings.
For those clients, PKO offers a litany of different services, such as negotiable interest rate current accounts, easy-answer credit approvals, foreign exchange instruments, as well as what seems to be one of the fastest growing elements in asset management - investment funds.
"We're geared toward those who would like to use more [sophisticated] financial products," Janczura says.
In the future, PKO will add more closely monitored financial advisory services, more frequent reports and asset management suggestions. Further, she says, "We also are planning on implementing more products especially for wealthy clients... for the end of this year."
Though she does not go into more detail about new products, the bank's considerations dovetail with competitors. As reported in last week's Business Journal, Citibank is in the process of adding to its private banking division in Poland, and Jyske Bank Polska, a Danish firm, has just opened up shop here, hoping to tap into the underserved private banking market.
PKO, for its part, is still in the process of privatization, something that - should it fall in the right hands - could further develop its private banking division at one shot.
Treasury Minister Jacek Socha has recently urged that a PKO sale was imperative if the country plans to come close to its privatization targets this year. Indeed, he estimated that a 30 percent stake could raise as much as zł.6 billion.
