WBK vice-president appointed head of Bank Zachodni

Aleksander Kompf, who is vice-president of Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy (WBK), became the new president of Bank Zachodni (BZ). "He was responsible for undertaking the decision due to which Allied Irish Bank (AIB) became the first foreign shareholder of the Polish bank and was also responsible for further strategic undertakings due to which AIB has increased its presence in Poland," said the director of the Polish branch of AIB Michael Buckley. BZ and WBK are awaiting a decision from Polish officials to allow them to merge. It is just a matter of time and now both institutions are working intensively on unifying their computer systems. AIB is spending about $100 million for these investments, particularly for a new computer system. AIB owns an 81.6% stake in BZ and 60.1% stake in WBK. Total profits before taxation of BZ and WBK amounted to euro 43 million and the total profits of the AIB Group were euro 607 million. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 1, 13) M.M.