Polish Central Bank Head Wants State To Actively Oversee Bank M&As
25 August 2011 - 8:13PM
Dow Jones News
The Polish state should actively oversee the ongoing changes of
the ownership of several Polish commercial banks, put up for sale
by their foreign owners, central bank governor Marek Belka said
Thursday.
KBC Group and Banco Comercial Portugues SA (BCP.LB), the
respective owners of Kredyt Bank SA (KRB.WA) and Bank Millennium SA
(MIL.WA), have recently said they were considering the sale of
their Polish units to meet capital requirements at home. Russia's
state-controlled OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) said this week it wants to
grow in eastern and central Europe as Russian daily Kommersant
reported the Russian bank was eyeing the two Polish banks put on
the market, citing unnamed investment bankers.
Prospective buyers will need the approval of their deals from
the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, where representatives
of the country's finance ministry and central bank are involved in
decision-making.
"Polish banks are in a fortunate situation that they have a
queue of good investors lined up for them," Belka said in an
interview with the central bank's news website. "But uncertainty
over the banks being put up for sale is a negative thing."
"I just hope state authorities, including the banking regulator,
will be active in this process ... If a bank needs to change its
owner, let it go into the hands of a stable and good investor.
Unfortunately, today there's a declining number of such investors.
Very often a potential parent from abroad isn't a source of
stability and strength," he said.
-By Marcin Sobczyk, Dow Jones Newswires; +48 22 447 2432;
marcin.sobczyk@dowjones.com