Poland’s number one lender PKO BP posted a Q2 net profit of PLN 949m, but while this was in line with the expectations of some market analysts, no one sees the 6 percent increase over Q2 2011 as evidence that Poland will avoid an economic slowing. Interest income is falling for most of the banks and credit margins are no longer growing. This looks to have been the case with PKO BP, claims Tomasz Bursa from Ipopema Securities, though he says it could still be earning on commissions and fees.
Despite staying in the black in Q2, he says PKO BP is unlikely to equal its results from last year. He warns that the outlook for 2013 is negative for the entire financial sector and that central bank is likely to end up cutting interest rates.
