Treasury: PKO BP to remain in state hands

The Treasury Ministry has worked out a rough draft of a privatization plan for parts of the banking sector still in public hands. Poland's largest retail bank, PKO BP, will remain in state hands, with as much as 30% of the company's value placed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The Treasury Ministry stated that PKO BP should remain a "universal" bank, specializing in s ervicing the public. The ministry has also proposed a merger of PKO BP and Bank Pocztowy. Plans were also made concerning other state owned banks. The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW), which currently holds a 44.36% stake in Bank Ochrony Srodowiska (BOS), is to totally withdraw from the institution. "Analyzing the situation of BOS, especially the bank's worsening results and the fall in its market value, we can say that maintaining the NFOSiGW stake in the bank is purposeless," says the report written by the ministry. "Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej is to become a commercial bank, listed on the stock exchange, aiming at specific target customers, concentrated on maximizing profits for its shareholders," reads the report. No final official draft has yet been made which could be presented to cabinet. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8) A.K.