State-owned Polish insurer PZU is rumored to be interested in buying the 200 BPH bank branches that are being sold off in the wake of a takeover by Italian bank Unicredito.
UniCredit agreed to divest the BPH brand as part of its takeover of Polish Bank Pekao in order to settle a dispute with the Polish government, which believed the deal would hinder competition. The Warsaw Business Journal reported that the president of PZU, Cezary Stypulkowski, has confirmed the company’s interest in a purchase.
However, the report added that a major shareholder, Eureko, is opposed to an acquisition. Belgian financial services group KBC has also expressed interest in the branches, along with Austrian lender Raiffeisen Bank.