Polish BRE Bank to Focus on Organic Growth, Not Buys

WARSAW--BRE Bank SA (BRE.WA), the Polish unit of Germany's Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE), doesn't see suitable acquisition opportunities at present and will instead focus on organic growth, BRE's chief executive, Cezary Stypulkowski, said Tuesday.

Poland's fourth largest lender by assets Tuesday said it will overhaul its internet retail banking operations and embark on a 100 million zloty ($31 million) rebranding plan that will lay the foundation for further growth.

"We have a long history of organic growth [...] also we are an internet bank at heart, we wouldn't know what to do with 500 [brick and mortar] branches," Mr. Stypulkowski said. "At the moment there is no partner on the market that would be an easy fit in terms of synergies."

BRE Bank, originally focused on providing banking services to the biggest Polish corporations, launched internet-based retail banking operations in 2000 and currently its revenues are nearly evenly split between corporations and individuals.

The prolonged financial crisis in the European Union gave rise to speculation that many international banks, like Scandinavian Nordea (NDA.SK) or Dutch Rabobank, are willing to sell their local Polish operations.

At the same time, biggest local lenders are on a lookout for opportunities to build scale in their operations. Top Polish bank PKO BP (PKO.WA) in its latest strategy declared its interest in acquiring smaller rivals.

Banco Santander (SAN.MC) Polish unit BZ WBK (BZW.WA) is also likely to turn to acquisitions to gain market share once it finishes restructuring after its latest buy, BZ WBK chief executive told The Wall Street Journal last week.

Write to Patryk Wasilewski at [e-mail]

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