News Parkiet

Banking

Short-term bank merger benefits unlikely, estimates show

The benefits of a possible tie-up between two of the top Polish banks, Pekao and Bank BPH, a by product of the mega-merger between Italy?s UniCredito and German HVB group, are unlikely to materialize anytime soon, equity analysts say. In the case of some previous deals, it took up to seven years by one estimate for banking profits to return to pre-merger levels. BPH?s own track record is not that good. After adjusting for inflation, the bank is still earning much less than its two component parts, BPH and PBK, four years after the two banks merger into one.

?Actually, bank mergers usually look best on paper?, one analyst says noting that combining BPH with Pekao might make sense as a preventive move against market share loss as a result of other potential mergers. Another analyst expects the merger to produce annual synergies totaling 580 million zloty over time. The move would have increased combined market value of the two banks by as much as 2 billion dollars from around $12.1 billion today.

Politics

Kwaśniewski calls for greater transparency

There must be a clear division between politics and business, Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski said in an interview with PARKIET recently. Kwaśniewski, who leaves office in a few months called for greater transparency and for legal regulations governing Polish lobbyists.

Chemicals

Police may go public on July 8

Fertilizer plant Zakłady Chemiczne Police may list its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in early July, senior managers at the company said this past week. Police plans to raise some of the money it needs to complete three-year, 500-million zloty upgrades program. It has already announced preliminary IPO schedule, starting with June 15 release of its IPO prospectus.