Saving the giant: PKO BP makes privatization plans
The State Treasury has announced a Feb. 9 deadline for bids in the tender
for privatization-adviser for Poland's largest retail bank PKO BP. The
bank, which has a balance sheet total worth zl.70 billion, needs further
capital injection amounting to at least zl.2 billion in order to assure
sound future growth. The Treasury plans to privatize PKO BP such that it
will still hold a majority stake in the bank. The National Bank of Poland
(NBP) plans to grant the bank partial exemption from mandatory reserves,
which will put the bank in an advantageous position compared to other
banks. "It is an instrument permitted by law and the central bank has the
right to use it. NBP is the supervisor and must be concerned whether banks
hold proper capital," said Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ) president
Wladyslaw Kulczycki. "This move shows that NBP cares for the stability of
the Polish banking system, but it is also a step in the direction of
unfair competition," said Bank Ochrony Srodowiska (BOS) president Jerzy
Pietrewicz. (Prawo i Gospodarka, Dec. 30, 2000 - Jan. 1, 2001, pp. 1, 11)
M.M.
