Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Business

PZU to look at bank holdings as part of new strategy, CEO says

Published by Uma Rajagopal

Posted on November 21, 2024

Featured image for article about Business

By Rafal Wojciech Nowak

GDANSK (Reuters) -Poland’s top insurer PZU will focus on its bank holdings when it reassesses the group structure as part of its 2025-2027 strategy, its CEO said on Thursday.

In early September, Poland’s state assets minister Jakub Jaworowski said PZU needed a strategy to address its stakes in two competing banks, Pekao and Alior.

While global insurers are spinning off banking operations to focus on their core business, PZU has retained significant shares in both banks, which Jaworowski said was seen as unusual and potentially detrimental to its valuation.

“The banking segment has certainly been, and will continue to be, the subject of our intensive work, particularly in terms of the group structure,” CEO Artur Olech said on a conference call after the publication of PZU’s third-quarter results.

PZU will provide further information on these plans when it unveils the new strategy on Dec. 2, he added.

As Of Sept. 30, PZU held a 20% stake in Pekao and a 32% stake in Alior.

Earlier on Thursday, PZU reported a nearly 18% drop in its third-quarter net profit to 1.22 billion zlotys ($296.9 million), hit by a high number of claims for flood-related damages.

That still beat analysts’ consensus of 1.09 billion zlotys provided by PZU.

The decline was mainly attributed to costs associated with the most severe floods Poland had seen in over twenty years, which in September prompted a significant mobilization of funds for recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Between Sept. 12 and Nov. 20, PZU processed more than 48,000 flood damage claims from customers, issuing decisions in more than 46,000 of them and paying out almost 400 million zlotys.

($1 = 4.1097 zlotys)

(Reporting by Rafal W. Nowak; editing by Milla Nissi)