Year of Digital Acceleration

2021.05.06

In 2020 the Capital Group of PKO Bank Polski expanded the scale of its operation. It assets grew up to PLN 377 billion, whereas the profit on business activity increased up to PLN 14.6 billion.
In 2020 the Capital Group of PKO Bank Polski expanded the scale of its operation. It assets grew up to PLN 377 billion, whereas the profit on business activity increased up to PLN 14.6 billion.
The Group’s net result dropped to PLN -2.6 billion, mainly as a result of the intention of offering settlements for FX borrowers, confirmed by the decisions of the Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting.
In 2020, PKO Bank Polski focused on ensuring continuity of operation and accelerating digitization, the effects of which will allow to increase its advantages over its competitors in the coming years.

Legal risks of housing loans in foreign currencies and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the results of the PKO Bank Polski Group which in 2020 recorded a result of PLN -2.6 billion. In spite of difficult economic situation, the result on business activities was PLN 14.6 billion and was slightly higher than a year before. There was also a clear growth in the Company’s scale of operation. Total assets approximated PLN 377 billion and were 8.4% higher than a year before.

The Capital Group of PKO Bank Polski passed the test of operation in the pandemic conditions. It increased the scale of operation and worked out a solid profit on business activity. As a result of approval of plans of offering settlements to FX borrowers, last year ended with a net loss of the Group. The Company was prepared for it and its financial standing is very good. Settlements will allow for eliminating legal risks of foreign currency housing loans, which in turn will let the Bank to focus on faster development of business activities in the next years. This solution is also beneficial for the Bank’s clients,

said Zbigniew Jagiełło, President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski.

Increased Scale of Operation and Solid Result on Business Activity

The Capital Group of PKO Bank Polski noticeably expanded the scale of its operation in 2020. The value of its assets approximated PLN 377 billion and was 8.4% higher than a year before. In spite of operating in the conditions of the pandemic, the Group has worked out a solid result on business activity. It reached PLN 14.6 billion and was slightly higher than a year before. The Group's net result in 2020 was PLN -2.6 billion. The Bank retains a strong capital and liquidity position. The total capital ratio of the Bank's Group amounts to 18.2% and is much higher than the regulatory minimum, whereas the Group holds PLN 14.7 billion of surplus capital.

The decrease in the annual result was mainly due to the autonomous decision of shareholders to offer the FX borrowers the possibility of concluding settlements with the bank. The Company set up a fund with the value of PLN 6.7 billion, which secures the costs of the settlement programme.

The result of the Capital Group in 2020 was significantly affected by the deteriorating situation in the economic environment caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, which forced the Bank to set up additional write-downs in the amount of PLN 1.2 billion. A rigid cost discipline helped the Bank reduce the drop of the financial result, thanks to which the costs of the Group’s operation in 2020 were lower than a year before by PLN 38 million.

Top Priority in 2020: Health and Safety

The year 2020 was the time of unusual challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and forced a shift in priorities, putting health and safety in the first place. PKO Bank Polski passed this test and, despite the difficult conditions, it maintained business continuity, and its branches were available to customers all the time. The Bank immediately made the possibility of remote work available to thousands of its employees and organized customer service in branches so as to minimize the risks associated with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Support for Fight with the Pandemic

In 2020, the Capital Group of PKO Bank Polski actively supported Poland and Poles in their fight with the pandemic. The Bank transferred funds for hospitals and sanitary services, whereas the Group's companies joined the offering of assistance. At the same time, the Bank supported aid measures for the Polish companies and jobs created by them. Together with the KIR, it set up a system for applying for subsidies from the Financial Shield of the Polish Development Fund, which was subsequently made available to other market players. It was also the leader in the distribution of funds from the Financial Shield of the Polish Development Fund and distributed assistance for companies granted by BGK.

Effects of Digitisation Helpful During the Pandemic

The effects of digital transformation that for over a decade has been changing the PKO Bank Polski Group into an agile organisation, equipped with state-of-the-art technological solutions, assisted in the performance of business during the pandemic. The pandemic accelerated the transition of clients to the remote channels. Already 3/4 of the clients use the Bank’s services in this mode. The IKO app continues to gain popularity; by the end of last year, it was activated already 5 million times. Since the moment of its launch almost eight years ago, the clients logged into it 2.9 billion times, of which almost 1.2 billion times in 2020 alone. Use of the Bank’s services at home is supported by consistently developed additional services, such as the Automarket website launched in July 2020.

Artificial Intelligence Supports the Bank’s Operation

One of the important technologies that supported the operation of PKO Bank Polski in 2020 was the artificial intelligence (AI). It helps in automation and is used more and more extensively in the company’s daily operations. Artificial intelligence is used, among others, by voice bots supporting the operation of the Bank’s costumer service helpline and the IKO voice assistant that was launched in May 2020. Every third person calling the Bank’s helpline is serviced by a voice bot, whereas the total number of calls handled by the Bank’s AI has exceeded 1 million. The AI also assists in soft debt recovery, verifies authenticity of IDs and analyses tens of thousands of opinions of the IKO app users every month. As part of processes that were covered by automation, work equivalent to 1.7 thousand FTE was performed.

Potential Hidden in the Cloud

Access to the modern cloud infrastructure has a great potential for the Bank. In 2020, PKO Bank Polski transferred 12,000 terminals to the cloud, operated by banking advisers in 1,000 branches. It also made available the cloud-based tool MS Teams, which supports remote teamwork, to 13,000 employees. On the other hand, the Bank’s clients can use the new service - the support from the Video Assistant - which was designed with the use of the cloud. The Bank has also implemented the Good Morning HR platform, which operates in the SAP public cloud and services soft HR processes for over 26,000 of the Bank’s employees. In the next years, the use of data processing in the cloud by the Bank will continue to grow.

Towards Sustainable Development

In its operation, the Bank is guided by the principle of sustainable development and attaches great importance to the mode of using the natural resources. In 2020, the Group reduced consumption of energy by 7.8% and downsized the CO2 emission generated by its operation by 32%. The Bank has also implemented the ESG risk assessment for the process of credit evaluation of corporate clients, tightened the credit policies towards emission-intensive sectors and became more open towards the RES financing.

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PKO Bank Polski is the indisputable leader at the Polish banking sector; the value of its assets amounts to PLN 377 billion. It is the supplier of financial services for all segments of clients, with the highest share in the market of savings (18.3%), loans (17.6%), market of mortgage loans (19.7%) and the market of investment funds of natural persons (19.2%). The Bank is the largest issuer of debit and credit cards in Poland. Thanks to the development of digital tools, including IKO, which has been activated almost 5 million of times by the end of 2020, PKO Bank Polski has become the most mobile bank in Poland. The Capital Group companies reinforce the Bank’s strong position. PKO Bank Polski Brokerage House is the leader with respect to the number and the value of IPO and SPO transactions on the capital market.

Szymon Pinderak

Press Center

prasa@pkobp.pl

+48 22 521 53 85

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