EBRD to provide fresh wave of support for Polands banking system

Alior Bank is set to become the tenth biggest bank in Poland (judging by total assets) after the EBRD announced that they would be supporting the bank’s expansion. The bank want to purchase BPHs’ Core Operations and EBRD will help fund the move which is said to cost around €350 million. A rights issue will fund the acquisition and will raise over €500 million with the extra money strengthening the bank’s capital and allowing them to invest further in future. The EBRD currently has a stake in the bank and so will invest around €25 million into the cause.

Alior Bank has seen relatively fast growth since being set up in 2008 and now has over 3 million customers making them ‘medium-sized’; the bank has introduced a strong focus on helping SMEs as well as consumers.The biggest stake is currently held by Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU) and accounts for around a quarter of the bank. The acquisition of General Electric’s BPH is another step of transformation for the bank and is expected to lead to positive changes for the banking sector in Poland as a whole; the ultimate aim is to improve the credit to GDP ratio which currently sits at under 60%.

EBRD Director for EU Banks, Lucyna Stanczak-Wuczynska, has said “As a shareholder in Alior Bank, the EBRD is pleased to participate in this important milestone acquisition. We are pleased with the bank’s development, growth and its high quality management. We are confident that today’s acquisition will allow the bank to continue to grow successfully. The acquisition will provide an excellent platform for Alior Bank’s ambitious plans to establish itself in the top tier of the Polish banking sector for the benefit of private customers as well as businesses. An improved availability of credit provided by strong domestic banks will support the growth of Poland's economy.”

CEO of Alior Bank, Wojciech Sobieraj, said “The EBRD has been our shareholder since Alior Bank entered the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2012. We are very pleased for them to participate in the rights issue and to have them support our strategy of development, including the acquisition of Bank BPH’s Core Operations.”

This next project is but another investment in Poland for the EBRD who has now put nearly €8 billion in nearly 400 projects since the early 1990s. The demand for the Polish banking sector looks to remain large over the next few years which means that the EBRD’s project list and portfolio is only going to grow.

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