Bank Privatization in Poland: The Case of Bank Slaki

The privatization of Bank Slaski, one of nine regional commercial banks in Poland, illustrates the benefits of attracting a strategic foreign investor in the process. Internationale Nederlanden Group has contributed substantially to the upgrading of Bank Slaski's credit lending practices, information systems, product and service offerings, and brokerage house operations. However, the prolonged ownership of a core-investor stake by the Polish Treasury slowed progress toward improving performance and created complications for governance. Furthermore, the Polish government's reaction to this privatization and its subsequent preoccupation with precluding a strong presence of foreign banks retarded the development of a dynamic and efficient banking sector in Poland.