Polish Central Bank Head Wants State To Actively Oversee Bank M&As

The Polish state should actively oversee the ongoing changes of the ownership of several Polish commercial banks, put up for sale by their foreign owners, central bank governor Marek Belka said Thursday.

KBC Group and Banco Comercial Portugues SA (BCP.LB), the respective owners of Kredyt Bank SA (KRB.WA) and Bank Millennium SA (MIL.WA), have recently said they were considering the sale of their Polish units to meet capital requirements at home. Russia's state-controlled OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) said this week it wants to grow in eastern and central Europe as Russian daily Kommersant reported the Russian bank was eyeing the two Polish banks put on the market, citing unnamed investment bankers.

Prospective buyers will need the approval of their deals from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, where representatives of the country's finance ministry and central bank are involved in decision-making.

"Polish banks are in a fortunate situation that they have a queue of good investors lined up for them," Belka said in an interview with the central bank's news website. "But uncertainty over the banks being put up for sale is a negative thing."

"I just hope state authorities, including the banking regulator, will be active in this process ... If a bank needs to change its owner, let it go into the hands of a stable and good investor. Unfortunately, today there's a declining number of such investors. Very often a potential parent from abroad isn't a source of stability and strength," he said.

-By Marcin Sobczyk, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]