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Santander Bank Polska changes owner. KNF comment
Jacek Jastrzębski, the Chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), expressed on social media on Monday that the arrival of new investors in the banking sector could enhance competition within this industry. Jastrzębski shared his thoughts on the X platform following the announcement that Erste Group intends to acquire 49 percent of the shares of Santander Bank Polska.
„The entry of new investors into the banking market has the potential to boost the competitiveness of this sector, thereby enriching or enhancing its offerings for clients,” stated the head of the KNF.
He further noted that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (UKNF) welcomes transactions that reflect a positive view of the banking sector in Poland from investors and an optimistic outlook for its future growth.
„We believe that the condition and level of development of our financial sector – particularly the banking segment – represent a significant achievement of Poland’s progress over the last few decades, resulting from years of effort by market stakeholders and public institutions,” he remarked.
In his view, good practices in the market regarding relationships with financial supervision involve notifying the PFSA in advance about intended transactions related to ownership changes in entities within the financial sector and discussing them with the supervisory authority.
„This was also true for the transaction involving Erste Group Bank SA’s acquisition of shares in Santander Bank PL. The PFSA provides support to the parties involved in potential transactions with its expertise and experience to ensure their smooth execution, in accordance with the regulations governing the acquisition of significant blocks of shares in banks,” he mentioned in the post.
Read more: A major transaction on the Polish banking market. There is an agreement >>>
Erste Group acquires shares in Santander Bank Polska
On Monday, Erste Group announced that it had finalized an agreement to purchase a 49% stake in Santander Bank Polska and a 50% stake in Santander TFI for a total of €7 billion. Erste anticipates that the acquisition will be finalized by the end of 2025.
As per the announcement, the agreement involves the purchase of shares in Santander Bank Polska at a cash price of PLN 584 per share (approximately totaling EUR 6.8 billion) and 50% of shares in Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych for approximately EUR 0.2 billion from Santander Group. This results in a total amount of EUR 7 billion.
It was also stated that the completion of the transaction is contingent upon receiving standard regulatory approvals, particularly from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and antitrust clearance from the European Commission.
Santander Bank Polska and Erste Group
Santander Bank Polska operates as a universal deposit and credit bank, offering financial services to individual clients, small and medium enterprises, as well as large corporations.
According to the bank’s report, at the end of 2024, Santander Bank Polska Group ranked as the third largest in Poland in terms of total assets, following PKO BP and Pekao.
Since 1993, the bank has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Santander Bank Polska boasts a network of 349 branches, 1,400 ATMs, and cash deposit machines, employs 11,400 staff, and serves 7.5 million customers. It also offers services through electronic access channels, including mobile banking.
In 2018, Santander Bank Polska rebranded from BZ WBK. The former Bank Zachodni WBK was formed through the merger of Bank Zachodni and Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy in June 2001.
Erste Group is an Austrian banking services provider, primarily operating within Central and Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, as well as Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. The headquarters of Erste Group are situated in Vienna.
