Poland
in the Bank
4
networking
WHAT's NewS Issue 3 March 1996
March 1 marked the official launch of the brand-
new Rabo-BRP Bank Poland.The acquisition of a
majority stake in the Polish Bank Rolno-
Przemyslowy (BRP) means that within 18 months,
the bank's presence has developed from a one-
person rep office into a fully-fledged banking
operation employing almost 70 staff. Henk
Adams and Jan Laskowski explain why BRP was
such an attractive option for Rabobank and what
the newly formed team will be aiming for.
Henk Adams, Managing Director
Things have moved rapidly for the bank in
Poland. A rep office was estahlished by
Henk Adams in the winter of 1994.
Almost exactly one year ago, he was
explaining in the old Raboband
International that the tiny Warsaw team
was still in the process of orientation in
what can only be described as one of the
fastest growing and most interesting
markets for the bank. He was also quick to
point out that acquiring a full banking
licence would be a precondition for
providing the bank's usual range of
services and products to the Polish market.
But acquiring that licence would probably
be linked by the authorities to the take
over of an ailing Polish bank. 'When we
talked to the Central Bank authorities
about entering the market, they came up
with a number of banks they thought we
could "rescue'Y Adams recalls.
'Fortunately, I'd already had a chance to
look around the market and we believed
that BRP would be the best option for us.
And again fortunately, we were also able
to convince the Central Bank of that. Our
strongest argument was that although BRP
was a good bank, it was too small to
survive long-term on its own.'
WESTERN-STYLE STRUCTURE
BRP was already known to Rabobank.
'Our subsidiary RIAS was involved in
setting up the bank by BRP's original
shareholders, which include an European
Union fund and the Polish-American
Enterprise Fund, as well as Polish
investors,' Adams say. Jan I.askowski picks
up the story: 'The shareholders recognized
a need for a Western-style commercial
bank specializing in agribusiness. In recent
years, this sector had been neglected by
other banks even though we've seen the
launch of numerous private companies,
new ventures and privatizations in this
field. The economist and former minister,
Dr Dariusz Ledworowski, became BRP 's
president and he put together a strong
team. Our entry into the Polish market
was successful - the numbers show that.
We were able to keep a clean loan
portfolio, which is quite an achievement in
Poland, and we were also able to build up
a good clientbase and a range of products
for the domestic market.'
DOMESTIC GOES INTERNATIONAL
However, further growth for BRP was im-
peded by two factors. One was a relatively
small capital base, the other was the lack
of the foreign exchange licence essential
for cross-border trade. 'BRP had a balance
sheet of around USD 30 million, a great
management team and staff, and a varied^
secondary agri-portfolio,' Adams says.
'Essentially, BRP was a purely domestic-
oriented, zloty-based local bank. The
problem was that because of its small capital
base and no foreign exchange licence, its
activities were limited. But even with these
limitations, BRP was still doing very well.'
FACT FILE - POLAND
Land surface
313.000 km2
Population
38 min
Unemployment
13.5%
GOP (per capita)
2,235
GOP (sector)
- agriculture
13%
- industry
45%
- services
43%
Real GNP growth
5%
Exports
20.510 min
Imports
22.814 min
Source: Rabobank Economie Research Department.
Figures in USD and percentages are estimates for 1995.