WARSAW--BRE Bank SA (BRE.WA), the Polish unit of Germany's
Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE), doesn't see suitable acquisition
opportunities at present and will instead focus on organic growth,
BRE's chief executive, Cezary Stypulkowski, said Tuesday.
Poland's fourth largest lender by assets Tuesday said it will
overhaul its internet retail banking operations and embark on a 100
million zloty ($31 million) rebranding plan that will lay the
foundation for further growth.
"We have a long history of organic growth [...] also we are an
internet bank at heart, we wouldn't know what to do with 500 [brick
and mortar] branches," Mr. Stypulkowski said. "At the moment there
is no partner on the market that would be an easy fit in terms of
synergies."
BRE Bank, originally focused on providing banking services to
the biggest Polish corporations, launched internet-based retail
banking operations in 2000 and currently its revenues are nearly
evenly split between corporations and individuals.
The prolonged financial crisis in the European Union gave rise
to speculation that many international banks, like Scandinavian
Nordea (NDA.SK) or Dutch Rabobank, are willing to sell their local
Polish operations.
At the same time, biggest local lenders are on a lookout for
opportunities to build scale in their operations. Top Polish bank
PKO BP (PKO.WA) in its latest strategy declared its interest in
acquiring smaller rivals.
Banco Santander (SAN.MC) Polish unit BZ WBK (BZW.WA) is also
likely to turn to acquisitions to gain market share once it
finishes restructuring after its latest buy, BZ WBK chief executive
told The Wall Street Journal last week.
Write to Patryk Wasilewski at patryk.wasilewski@dowjones.com
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