Euro zone’s largest bank Satander is looking to buy a controlling stake in Poland’s lender Kredyt Bank, currently held by the Belgian bank KBC. “Information that Santander is interested in acquiring banks in Poland is true,” Alfredo Saenz, head of the Spanish bank, reportedly said. KBC will now wait till the end of this month for a binding offer from Santander. With the 80 percent stake in Kredyt Bank it currently holds, KBC is struggling with its debt to the Belgian government it, and which it expects to pay back by offloading its Polish assets. The sell-off started nearly three weeks ago when the Polish insurer Warta was sold to German Talanx. According to Reuters, Kredyt Bank’s market value has been estimated at PLN 3.26bn.
