EC to sue Poland for blocking Pekao/BPH merger

EC to sue Poland for blocking Pekao/BPH merger

The European Commission confirmed Friday it will sue Poland to EU court for blocking the merger of PKO SA and BPH banks, which are owned by Italian UniCredito bank. The decision is to be taken on March 8.

Poland opposes a merger of Pekao and BPH banks which were acquired by UniCredito as a result of the fusion with German HVB.

Poland's government claims that in clearing the UniCredito and HVB merger, the European Commission did not take into account its consequences on the Polish market, that is a Pekao SA and BPH merger. Poland claims that a Pekao privatisation agreement banned UniCredito from owning any other Polish bank.