UOKiK unlikely to block Raiffeisen deal?
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
11.02.2015 14:56
The Polish consumer watchdog will likely not be able to stop the sale of Raiffeisen to a large player already in Poland, says the CEO of Pekao.
Photo: Raiffeisen Media
Luigi Lovaglio, the head of Pekao, has said that while interested in purchasing the Polish arm of Raiffeisen, he was not willing to shell out more than book value.
“The Polish banking system is strong and it should not be any problem,” Lovaglio was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Pekao is a subsidiary of Italian UniCredit.
“Taking into account that we have the highest Core Tier 1 ratio, it's logical to expect that the regulator will not have anything against [this],” Lovaglio added.
These comments came following reports that Raiffeisen Bank International intends to offload its subsidiaries in Poland and Slovenia.
In Poland, Raiffeisen is the country’s eighth largest lender, but failed to find its feet following a takeover of Polbank in 2012.
The bank made EUR 84 million in Poland last year, significantly below analyst forecasts. (rg)
Source: Reuters