Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (PKO Bank Polski, PKO BP) (WSE

Warsaw Stock Exchange

The Warsaw Stock Exchange , , is a stock exchange located in Warsaw, Poland. It has a capitalization of € 220 bln .The WSE is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Federation of European Securities Exchanges.-History:...

: PKO) is Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

's largest bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

. It provides services to individual and business clients. The core business activity of PKO Bank Polski is retail banking. The full name Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności roughly means "General Savings Bank," and Bank Polski means "Polish Bank." Popularly only the acronym is used.

Today (as at the end of 2010) PKO Bank Polski employs less than 27,000 people and has a full-year net profit

Net profit

Net profit or net revenue is a measure of the profitability of a venture after accounting for all costs. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 91 percent responded that they found the "net profit" metric very useful...

 of over 3 billion PLN (more than 1 billion US dollars). Its assets are worth more than 167 billion PLN (around 60 billion US dollars). Bank was ranked 510 in the Forbes Global 2000

Forbes Global 2000

The Forbes Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine. The ranking is based on a mix of four metrics: sales, profit, assets and market value...

 for year 2010. The bank is also present outside Poland, notably in Ukraine after the acquisition

Takeover

In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...

 of KredoBank (Кредобанк)). The company is headquartered in central Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

.

Because of its size and position as one of the first banks, PKO Bank Polski is still one of the best recognized and most valuable brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

s in Poland. Specialists from The Banker

The Banker

The Banker is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd. and edited in London...

 magazine estimated the value of Bank's brand at USD 1 billion and in Rzeczpospolita

Rzeczpospolita

Rzeczpospolita is a traditional name of the Polish State, usually referred to as Rzeczpospolita Polska . It comes from the words: "rzecz" and "pospolita" , literally, a "common thing". It comes from latin word "respublica", meaning simply "republic"...

 "Polish Brands 2010" ranking its value was set at PLN 3.6 billion. In the 2011 edition of ranking "The BrandFinance® Banking 500" prepared by the British firm Brand Finance

Brand Finance

Brand Finance is an independent intangible asset valuation consultancy. It advises strongly branded organisations, or those with valuable intangible assets, on how to maximise their value through effective management of their brand and other intangible assets...

, which includes the most valuable bank brands in the world, PKO Bank Polski brand was valued at USD 1.480 billion. It gives PKO Bank Polski the 1st place in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe and 114th place in the world.

Although floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Warsaw Stock Exchange

The Warsaw Stock Exchange , , is a stock exchange located in Warsaw, Poland. It has a capitalization of € 220 bln .The WSE is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Federation of European Securities Exchanges.-History:...

, as of May 2011 the state still directly and indirectly holds 51.24% of shares (40.99% belong to State Treasury

State Treasury

State Treasury in Polish law represents the Polish state in certain legal aspects. It can be represented by various officials or institutions depending on circumstances....

 and 10.25% to state-owned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego). However, the state shareholders informed recently that they intent to sell some of their shares. As Polish Minister of State Treasury Aleksander Grad

Aleksander Grad

Aleksander Grad is a Polish politician. He graduated from the Industrial Geodesy Department at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow. He was elected to the Sejm on September 25, 2005, receiving 13680 votes in 15 Tarnów district as a candidate on the Platforma Obywatelska list...

 said, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will sell 10% and the Treasury Ministry will sell more shares according to market demand. Total government stake in PKO Bank Polski after this transaction is to fall to as low as 25%.

PKO Bank Polski should not be confused with another large, old Polish bank with an identical acronym, Bank Pekao

Bank Pekao

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna, commonly using the shorter name Bank Pekao S.A., is a universal bank with its headquarters in Warsaw, Poland. Italian bank UniCredit owns 59% of the company....

 S.A.

Financial data

Year	Net profit (in billion PLN)	Assets (in billion PLN)
2010	3.311	167.2
2009	2.432	153.7
2008	2.881	131.2
2007	2.720	105.3
2006	2.047	99.8
2005	1.676	90.3
2004	1.872	85.1
2003	1.228	84.4
2002	1.051	82.0

Capital Group

PKO Bank Polski is the leader of the Capital Group. In addition to the parent, the group structure includes wholly owned and majority-owned subsidiaries and associates. These pursue their own business objectives whilst supporting the Bank's sales objectives and acting as its service providers. The subsidiary companies also complement the Bank's offer with such services as leasing, settlement of electronic card transactions, factoring and investment fund management.
Key companies in PKO Bank Polski Capital Group:

• PKO BP Bankowy Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne
• PKO Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych
• Bankowy Fundusz Leasingowy
• Bankowe Towarzystwo Kapitałowe
• eService
• Inteligo Financial Service
• Qualia Development (formerly: PKO BP Inwestycje)
• Centrum Finansowe Puławska