The Supervisory Board of PKO Bank Polski issued a positive opinion on the recommendation of the Bank's Management Board about distribution of profit for 2018

The Management Board’s proposal stipulates assigning 49.8% of profit for 2018 to dividend, which means PLN 1.33 gross per share. This is consistent with the individual recommendation of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority which confirmed that PKO Bank Polski fulfils the requirements for distribution of dividend up to 50% of profit for the previous year. Payment of dividend in 2020 from the undistributed portion of profit for 2018 could mean that in the perspective of the next year, the dividend capacity of the Bank will exceed the present-day 50%. The proposal for the distribution of profit for 2018 is consistent with the Bank’s dividend policy and simultaneously allows for further dynamic development of PKO Bank Polski, observing very safe levels of capital adequacy ratios. The final decision on the distribution of profit for 2018 will be made by the General Shareholders’ Meeting.

“The Supervisory Board of PKO Bank Polski reviewed the recommendation of the Bank's Management Board about distribution of profit for 2018 and issued a positive opinion on it. The final decision on this issue will be made by the shareholders of the Bank during the General Shareholders’ Meeting, which should be summoned at the latest by the end of June. If they accept the proposed distribution, a dividend in the amount of PLN 1.33 per share will be paid from profit for 2018, and at the next General Shareholders’ Meeting, they will be able to decide once again about the use of a half of the profit undistributed this year,” said Piotr Sadownik, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PKO Bank Polski.

“The capacity for dividend distribution is one of the goals of the PKO Bank Polski's strategy. Last year, we distributed PLN 687.5 million profit as divided and this year, we recommend to assign PLN 1.66 billion for this purpose. Our intention is to retain the capacity for regular sharing of profits with our shareholders. By leaving half a profit undistributed, the shareholders will gain greater flexibility with respect to the formation of the dividend policy in the next years,” said Zbigniew Jagiełło, President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski.

Most resilient bank in Europe
The results of European stress tests carried out in 2018 confirmed high resilience of PKO Bank Polski to theoretical negative macro-economic scenarios and showed that it is the most resilient among all tested banks. Strong capital base of the Bank results in the fact that even in extremely adverse conditions, the levels of CET1 ratio, simulated in stress tests, meet the supervisory standards.

Best year in 100 years of history of PKO Bank Polski
2018 was the best year in the entire history of PKO Bank Polski. During the whole year, the capital group generated PLN 3.74 billion of net profit and its assets grew up to PLN 324 billion. Owing to efficient implementation of strategy and conducive economic environment, the bank accomplished key financial targets determined for 2020 already in 2018. In September last year, when Poland was promoted to the group of developed markets in the classification of the global index agency FTSE Russell, PKO Bank Polski was the only Polish company to enter the group of large companies and joined such giants as Microsoft and Apple. The Bank ended 2018 as the most valuable company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

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PKO Bank Polski is the undisputable leader of the Polish banking sector. In 2018, its consolidated net profit amounted to PLN 3,74 bilion  (the largest in the Polish banking sector) and the value of assets reached over PLN 324 billion. The Bank is the basic provider of financial services for all customer segments, achieving the highest shares in the deposit market (17.9 percent), loans (17.7 percent), leasing market (12.0 percent) and in the market of investment funds not dedicated (17.2 percent). With over 8.7 million payment cards, the bank is the largest debit and credit card issuer in Poland with a market share of over 21%. Thanks to the development of digital tools, including the IKO application, which has in in the end of 2018 - 3.12 million active applications, PKO Bank Polski has become the most mobile bank in Poland. The Capital Group's companies strengthen the Bank's strong position. The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski is a leader in terms of the number and value of IPO and SPO transactions on the capital market. The effective implementation of the growth strategy meant that at the end of 2017, PKO Bank Polski was the most valuable company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.