WARSAW: Top Polish bank PKO BP on Monday reported a 20 percent fall in 2015 net profit hurt by payments it had to make into Poland’s bank guarantee and creditors’ support funds. The state-controlled lender said net profit fell to 2.6 billion zlotys ($661 million), slightly above the 2.53 billion expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
“Last year was, on the one hand, a time of stable GDP growth, driven mainly by domestic demand, which bolstered lending,” the bank’s chief executive said in a letter to shareholders. “On the other hand …the sector paid the cost of the first bankruptcy of a co-operative bank in 15 years,” he said.
Last year saw a collapse of SK Bank, which had about 3.5 billion zlotys in assets. Under Polish law, other banks have to cover the liabilities of failed peers. Low interest rates and a new bank asset tax have also weighed on Polish lenders. “The results is higher than expected due to a lower effective tax rate and lower risk costs,” said Kamil Stolarski, analyst at Haitong Bank.
“Now the key issues are the dividend – whether the bank will pay it and how much – and the bank’s expectations regarding the loan portfolio in the banking tax environment,” Stolarski said. PKO said its fourth-quarter net fell to 444 million zlotys from 723 million a year earlier. Analysts expected a net of 369 million.
