The Spanish lender Satander announced it’s reached agreement on the Kredyt Bank merger this week. Kredyt Bank is the Polish arm of Belgian financial group KBC. The deal will make Satander the third-largest player on Poland’s financial market with a new unit that would have 1,000 branches across the country. Belgian KBC will keep its 16,4 percent stake in the bank with Satander holding other 76.5 percent. KBC has been directed by the European Commission to sell off assets in order to clear the €7bn debt it incurred back in 2008 during the financial crisis. Earlier this year, it offloaded its first Polish asset, the Warta insurance company to German Talanx for €770m.
