Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bk Plski : Good start in 2018. Best results among banks.

2018.05.30

• In 2018, PKO Bank Polski Group reported the net profit of PLN 757 million, 44.2% higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year and the highest in the Polish banking sector.
• This year has seen a systematic growth of the result on business operations (up 8.1 percent y/y), net interest income (up 8.4 percent y/y) and net commission income (up 3.8 percent y/y).
• The growth of business growth, a low risk cost of 0.69 p.p. and the high quality of loans are contributing to the capital strength of the bank.

PKO Bank Polski started the year 2018 with great financial performance. The bank's net profit for Q1 2018 increased by 44% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. This was supported by the continued, fast growth of business activity. In the first three months, the result on business activity amounted to PLN 3.2 billion, which was more than 8 percent higher than a year earlier and driven by growing net interest income (up 8.4 percent y/y to PLN 2.2 bn) and net commission income (up 3.8 percent y/y to PLN 737 million).

- PKO Bank Polski has achieved great financial performance again. In the first quarter of 2018, the bank generated PLN 757 million of net profit, which was over PLN 200 million more than a year ago and over PLN 300 million more than the next bank in Poland. As a result of methodically strengthening its position in key market segments, the bank remains an unquestioned leader of the Polish banking sector. Its business development is systematically accompanied by a strengthening of its capital position, so we intend to pay PLN 688 million of dividend to our shareholders for 2017 - saidZbigniew Jagiełło, President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski.

Strengthening the position of the unquestioned leader of the Polish banking sector

After the first quarter of 2018, the balance sheet total of the PKO Bank Polski Group amounted to PLN 296.1 bn, a growth of 2.3 percent on Q1 2017. The assets of PKO Bank Polski are more than PLN 100 bn higher than of the second largest bank in Poland, and the profit which PKO Bank Polski generated in Q1 was almost twice the result of the bank with the second largest assets. In the first three months of 2018, the financing of customers of the Bank Group rose to PLN 224.8 bn, while the savings they deposited with the bank stayed at a high level of PLN 242 bn. PKO Bank Polski remains an unquestioned leader of both the credit and deposit markets.

Significant reinforcement of the capital strength

Business activity growth, strong cost discipline and the improvement of the credit portfolio quality have led to a significant strengthening of the bank's capital position. The cost/income ratio (C/I, excluding the banking tax) shrunk in Q1 2018 to 45.3 percent, and the risk cost fell to a low level of 0.69 p.p. The high quality of loans allowed the value of impairment charges to be reduced by 25 percent. These results led to an increase in capital ratios which remain at levels in excess of dividend requirements.

The most valuable company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the most valuable financial brand in Poland

PKO Bank Polski is the most valuable company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. At the end of April 2017, its market value reached PLN 52 billion. The Bank also has the brand with the highest valuation in the domestic financial sector. In the Ranking of the Most Valuable Polish Brands in 2017 by the 'Rzeczpospolita' daily, the PKO Bank Polski brand was valued at PLN 2.7 billion. It is also the third most valuable brand in Poland overall.

Strengthening the position of the digitalization and e-administration service leader

PKO Bank Polski is reinforcing its position as the leader of mobile banking in Poland and globally. It has 2.6 million active mobile banking users, and its IKO app beats other banking competitors in terms of the number of active apps, users, and the number of mobile transactions. Users are not only running the application more often, but also rate it very highly. As a result, the PKO Bank Polski's mobile application came first in a prestigious ranking of banking applications by the British Retail Banker International, which rated banks from all over the world.

The bank is also reinforcing its position of a leader in e-administration services. The number of trusted profiles set up using the iPKO service has just reached 250,000. Customers also frequently use the bank as an intermediary when submitting applications for the 500+ child benefit or for filling out the PIT-WZ tax return. They can also enter a business they are establishing in the CEIDG register. They can use the banking systems to avoid personally visiting the government office. In less than three months since this functionality was enabled, Polish entrepreneurs used it to establish over one thousand businesses, a quarter of which have accounts with PKO Bank Polski.

PKO Bank Polski online currency exchange gains market share

Since January 2018, PKO Bank Polski customers have been able to change currencies using its iPKO online transaction service. In slightly more than 4 months, the service was used for more than 60,000 transactions totaling PLN 385 million. The online FX platform can be used to make transactions in as many as 28 currency pairs. In combination with complementary products, such as the multi-currency card, the platform supports quick everyday payments in foreign currencies. The new service and the related products help retail customers manage their finances better.

In-house accelerator for start-ups: 'Let's Fintech with PKO Bank Polski!'

PKO Bank Polski has started recruitment for its proprietary acceleration program called 'Let's Fintech with PKO Bank Polski!'. This is the first accelerator with elements of an API environment dedicated to start-ups. The program is addressed to start-ups developing innovative solutions in the field of financial services. New companies taking part in 'Let's Fintech with PKO Bank Polski!' will gain support in form of technological facilities and knowledge. The best start-ups that complete the recruitment process can also count on the bank's support when scaling their business up.

The launch of the 'Let's Fintech with PKO Bank Polski!' accelerator represents another step in the cooperation of PKO Bank Polski with the start-up community. In 2017, it became the first Polish financial institution to invest directly into a fintech company. It is also the first Polish bank implementing blockchain in the process of confirming the authenticity of banking documents.

Enterprise Banking Center in full operation

In accordance with the strategy it follows, PKO Bank Polski is reinforcing its position in the strategic SME segment. After a successfully completed pilot project, as of the beginning of April PKO Bank Polski launched the whole scope of the Enterprise Banking Center, which offers entrepreneurs a dedicated network of mobile relationship managers as well as expert support on the subjects of leasing, factoring, treasury products or trade finance. As part of the new service model, the customer is supported by a team made up of a relationship manager and a credit analyst. This solution greatly accelerates the credit process, allowing long term business relations to be built. The Enterprise Banking Center is dedicated to business customers with the annual revenue ranging from PLN 5 million to PLN 30 million.

Corporate branch to be opened in London

PKO Bank Polski is a trusted trade finance partner. With its innovative solutions, the bank is developing a wide array of services facilitating foreign operations. The bank follows Polish customers wherever they need the support of a Polish bank, and converts its initiatives into business successes. One example are the foreign corporate branches of PKO Bank Polski in Frankfurt and Prague. which have already achieved their expected profitability. PKO Bank Polski is now working to open another corporate branch, this time in London. The Bank also supports the international expansion of Polish companies by developing its infrastructure for international settlements. The efforts undertaken by PKO Bank Polski have been recognized by experts from the 'Global Finance' magazine who named PKO Bank Polski the national trade finance leader of 2018 in The World's Best Trade Finance Providers ranking.

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PKO Bank Polski is the undisputable leader of the Polish banking sector. In first quater of 2018, its consolidated net profit amounted to PLN 757 mln (the largest in the Polish banking sector) and the value of assets reached over PLN 295 billion. The Bank is the basic provider of financial services for all customer segments, achieving the highest shares in the deposit market (17.9 percent), loans (17.7 percent), leasing market (12.0 percent) and in the market of investment funds not dedicated (17.2 percent). With over 8.3 million payment cards, the bank is the largest debit and credit card issuer in Poland with a market share of over 21%. Thanks to the development of digital tools, including the IKO application, which already has 2.1 million active applications, PKO Bank Polski has become the most mobile bank in Poland. The Capital Group's companies strengthen the Bank's strong position. The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski is a leader in terms of the number and value of IPO and SPO transactions on the capital market. The effective implementation of the growth strategy meant that at the end of 2017, PKO Bank Polski was the most valuable company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.