Poland's PKO BP puts off eurobond issue till third quarter of 2008

WARSAW (Thomson Financial) - Poland's second largest bank, PKO BP, has postponed its planned eurobond issue until the third quarter of this year, the bank's chief executive said today.

Earlier the state-controlled bank had planned the issue for the second quarter, with PKO head Rafal Juszczak saying it will be worth substantially more than the 1.6 bln zlotys it obtained from its last debt issue in Poland.

'I stick to the idea of eurobond issue,' Juszczak told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. 'It could take place in the third quarter.'

As part of moves to increase PKO's capital, Poland's state treasury has not ruled out cutting its stake in the lender to below 50 pct by allowing the bank to issue new shares.

Juszczak declined to comment whether a share issue was on the cards.

Source: ByAdrian Krajewski, forbes.com