The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection issued consent for PKO Bank Polski to acquire shares of Bank Pocztowy. In the opinion of Cezary Banasiński, the concentration would not disrupt competition

The concentration notified to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection on 1 July 2004 will consist in PKO acquiring from Prokom Investments a packet of shares providing at least 25 percent of votes in Bank Pocztowy. This would not result in PKO taking control over the bank as control will continue to be performed by Poczta Polska and Bank Pocztowy will continue to function in its group.

Since the joint sales of entities participating in the transaction exceeds 50 million EUR, the concentration is subject to notification and opinion by the antimonopoly authority.

In the opinion of the President of UOKiK, the expansion of activity by PKOi after the transaction will consolidate market position of the undertaking; however, this will not be of major importance and will pose no hazard to market competition. PKO will continue to encounter competition from commercial and co-operative banks.

Additional information:
Elżbieta Anders, Spokesperson of UOKiK
International Relations and Communication Department
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Ph.: (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
E-mail: eanders@uokik.gov.pl