As opposition to the merger of Poland’s Pekao and BPH mounts, the banks’ contrasting approaches to foreign currency lending are highlighting concerns over the surge in Swiss franc-denominated mortgages. Nick Spiro reports.

Bank BPH
Joseph Wancer, CEO

Italy’s UniCredit has bolstered its presence in the ‘new Europe’ with its purchase of HVB. But, as Nick Spiro reports, integration will present it with a real challenge.

With a long-awaited pick-up in corporate lending failing to materialise, Polish banks are making the most of a buoyant residential mortgage market. Yet consolidation beckons in what remains a deeply fragmented sector, says Nick Spiro.

board member, PKO BP
If Piotr Kaminski’s previous stints at Poland’s securities watchdog (KPWiG) and the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) are anything to go by, the 36-year-old board member of Poland’s mammoth savings bank, PKO BP, is a clear favourite to succeed close colleague Andrzej Podsiadlo as the bank’s next chief executive.

Poland’s state savings bank’s long-delayed initial public offering is under threat, yet its CEO is optimistic. Nicholas Spiro reports from Warsaw.

Personal customers in the Czech Republic and Poland have mixed feelings towards the foreign banks that dominate their financial services industries,a new survey shows. Michael Imeson reports.