Highest profit in banking sector and double-digit growth in business profits

“The good performance of Poland’s economy supports the growth of business of PKO Bank Polski. The Corporate Group earned an after-tax profit of PLN 525m in the first quarter of the year, the highest in the banking sector. In pursuance of our Strategy, we have launched further modern services, thereby supporting the digital transformation of the economy. This has resulted in a rapid growth in our customer base, particularly visible in the age groups which are naturally more prone to use innovative solutions.” says Zbigniew Jagiełło, President of PKO Bank Polski.

Consolidated position of undisputed leader in the banking sector
In the first quarter of 2017, the bank consolidated its position as undisputed leader of the Polish banking sector. The total consolidated assets of PKO Bank Polski amounted to PLN 288.5bn in the first quarter of 2017, rapidly approaching the PLN 300bn mark. Less than a year ago, total assets amounted to PLN 267.1bn, thus growing 8% over the past twelve months. At the end of the first quarter, PKO Bank Polski still held the position of absolute leader in the lending market, with a share of 17.7 percent, and in the deposit market, where its share amounted to 17.3 percent.

Further strengthening of the capital position and improved quality in the lending portfolio
After the first three months of 2017, the bank’s equity ratios were high, significantly above regulatory minima. The total equity ratio remained at 15.6 percent, whereas the Tier 1 ratio was at 14.77 percent. The cost of risk amounted to 74 bps in the first quarter alone, which means it was 6 bps lower than in the fourth quarter of 2016. The share of impaired loans also remained low, at 5.9 percent. The impairment loss to impairment allowance ratio grew to 66.5 percent. The figures show that the positive trend in the improving quality of the bank’s lending portfolio is continuing and this reflects the bank’s responsible approach to growing its business.

Rapid growth in customer numbers, particularly in lower age brackets
PKO Bank Polski has reported one of the most effective organic increases in the number of accounts in the market. More than a half of new accounts have been opened by individuals under twenty-six years of age. The bank has 9.3m customers and maintains nearly 7m current accounts, of which more than 1.1m are held by individuals under twenty-six. Customers from this age bracket open a new account with PKO Bank Polski every 20 seconds. PKO Bank Polski is also the biggest issuer of payment cards in the Polish market. In the first quarter, the number of cards grew by 121,000 to nearly eight million.

The most mobile bank
PKO Bank Polski is the leader of mobile banking in Poland. As many as 22 percent of Poles logging on to their bank accounts using a smartphone or tablet are customers of PKO Bank Polski. At the end of the first quarter, the bank had nearly 1.8 million active mobile customers and 1.2 million active IKO applications, which makes it the leader in the Polish mobile banking services market. PKO Bank Polski is constantly developing the functionality of its mobile banking system. In the first quarter, the bank provided its customers with the ability to make HCE contactless payments with Mastercard cards. As many as 90,000 customers – the most in the market – now make contactless payments with their phones running the IKO application. Also, recently the bank provided customers with the ability to make payments via BLIK at public offices and have their payment cards temporarily blocked.

Consolidated position of the digitization leader in e-administration services
Focusing on the needs and expectations of our customers, we are developing the range of e-administration services available to customers. After we provided our customers last year with the ability to submit applications for the 500+ scheme via our iPKO online banking channel, to access the PUE ZUS portal and to set up a Trusted Profile in a simple, quick and safe way, we have added further e-administration services. Nine million PKO Bank Polski online banking customers are now able to submit PIT-WZ applications via the iPKO and Inteligo transaction systems. In late April, we made it possible for drivers to check the number of penalty points on their licences via our banking systems.

The first bank to invest in a fintech start-up
We collaborate with and strongly support the Polish start-up community. We are a partner of the MIT Enterprise Forum Poland Acceleration Programme, which has a path for fintech start-ups called “Let’s Fintech with PKO Bank Polski!”. Another stage in our cooperation with this community was the purchase in early 2017 of ZenCard, a digital company offering a platform for creating loyalty programmes for retail chains, shops and service providers. It was the first investment of this kind in the Polish financial sector. Following this strategy, we will continue to support Polish technology start-ups in the coming quarters and we will actively seek innovative solutions that can be  implemented in the bank for the benefit of our customers.

Support for the growth of Polish enterprise
In its support for the growth of Polish enterprises, PKO Bank Polski has increased its presence where Polish companies need it. One of these areas is the leasing market. In late April and early May, PKO Leasing merged with Raiffeisen Leasing Polska, a company it took over in December 2016. After the merger, PKO Leasing became the leader of the Polish leasing market with a market share of 13 percent. The bank also follows its customers to foreign markets. On 3April 2017, a corporate branch of PKO Bank Polski opened in Prague, Czech Republic. PKO Bank Polski aspires to being the first choice bank for Polish companies operating in the Czech market and a gateway for Czech companies wishing to enter the Polish market. We also assist the expansion of Polish business to remote destinations. By strengthening our relationships with banks in Asia, the Persian Gulf area or Sub-Saharan Africa, PKO Bank Polski is in a better position to support ventures by Polish companies in those regions.

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PKO Bank Polski is the indisputable leader in the Polish banking sector. In the first quarter of 2016, its consolidated net profit amounted to PLN 525 million, whereas the balance sheet sum reached PLN 288.5 billion. In 2016, its net profit amounted to PLN 2.87 billion, what was the best result in the Polish financial sector. The bank is the basic supplier of financial services for all client segments and has highest share in the deposit market (17.3%) and loans (17.7%), including mortgage loans; every third mortgage loan is granted by PKO Bank Polski and PKO Bank Hipoteczny. Having 8 million pay cards, the Bank is the largest issuer of debit and credit cards in Poland with a share in the market on the level of 22%. Thanks to the development of digital tools, including the IKO app, which was already activated 1.2 million times, PKO Bank Polski has become the most mobile bank in Poland. The Bank’s strong position is reinforced by companies from the Capital Group. Dom Maklerski (Brokerage House) of PKO Bank Polski is the leader with respect to the number and the value of IPO and SPO transactions at the capital market. After the take-over of Raiffeisen-Leasing Polska, the Capital Group became a leader at the lease market, with a share on the level of 13%. Efficient implementation of growth strategy made PKO Bank Polski the highest positioned domestic financial company in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking, including largest listed companies in the world. In 2016, The Banker monthly magazine that belongs to Financial Times, awarded PKO Bank Polski with the “Bank of the Year in Poland” prize for the third time.