Two of mini-BPH's suitors lose their ardor

According to Puls Biznesu, two key candidates have withdrawn from the battle. These include KBC, the investor behind ninth-largest-bank Kredyt Bank and insurer Warta, and Raiffeisen, 11th-largest bank in Poland. "It looks like what has been put up for sale from the current Bank BPH can only be a source of cost rather than rapid growth for these groups. This is the main reason for their resignation," said Puls Biznesu's source. The four companies still in the battle are Santander, BNP Paribas, GE Capital and Credit Mutuel. The deadline for submitting final bids is the end of this month. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 6) A.K.