Central and Eastern Europe regional awards
 |
Best Bank: Bank BPH |
The continuing merger negotiations between UniCredit’s Bank BPH and Bank Pekao units in Poland will inevitably prove something of a distraction but as a market leader in high-growth markets such as mortgages and credit cards, Bank BPH remains the bank to watch in Poland. The country remains one of the key banking markets in central Europe, with a wide range of global and regional banks pushing hard to expand their presence. The latest figures for Bank BPH make for good reading, with both pre-tax and net profits for the first quarter of 2007 up 63% – continuing a strong five-year run during which pre-tax profits rose by 277% and net profits by 400%. The bank’s cost-income ratio has also been slashed to 45.7%, down from 48.5% a year earlier.
Deutsche Bank’s long-established track record in trading Polish debt, whether it involves zloty or foreign-currency issuance, secures it the award for best debt house.
The equity award that goes to Bank BPH is based simply on the fact that the bank is not a big player in trading terms but does boasts the added-value element that it produces what is widely regarded as the highest quality and most comprehensive research product available on the Polish market.