Bank Handlowy w Warszawie (BHW, lit. ' Commercial Bank in Warsaw ' ), rebranded Citibank Handlowy in 2003 and Citi Handlowy in 2007, is a Polish bank based in Warsaw , Poland . It is one of the oldest banks in Poland, the 10th largest Polish bank by assets, and 18th in terms of number of outlets.
29-604: Initiated by financier Leopold Stanisław Kronenberg in 1870, Bank Handlowy played a vital role in international trade, representing the Second Polish Republic government's assets in several international firms like the Danzig Shipyard . After World War II, the bank was reactivated in 1945 and later Polish People's Republic . It was one of the few companies to avoid complete nationalization during communism in Poland. After
58-476: A prominent Polish Jew who had converted to Lutheranism . They had six children: Stanisław Leopold (1846–94), entrepreneur ; Władysław Edward (1848–92), musician and philanthropist ; Leopold Julian (1849–1937), banker; Tekla Julia (1851–52); Maria Róża (1854–1944)—wife of Karol Zamoyski, and subsequently of Gustaw Taube —hostess of a famous Warsaw literary salon; and Rozalia (born 1857), wife of Aleksander Orsetti . From 1839 to 1860, having obtained
87-647: A representative of the "white" faction that favored a compromise with the Russians. In 1870, Kronenberg founded Bank Handlowy , the commercial bank of Warsaw, and in 1875 he founded the Warsaw School of Economics . He also founded the Credit Corporation of Warsaw, Industrial Cashier, Warsaw Fire Insurance Company, Coal Mine Association and Metallurgical Works. He was a shareholder in mining, metallurgical and sugar companies. He built many sugar factories, and in 1870
116-582: Is entitled to audit all state institutions, government and local government administrative units, together with those corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations which perform public contracts or receive government grants and guarantees. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and the statute relating to the NIK, determine that the Polish SAI functions on the principle of collegiate responsibility. The Speaker of
145-619: Is listed on the WIG20 index. In 2021 Elżbieta Światopełk-Czetwertyńska became the CEO of the bank, replacing Sławomira Sikory who held the position since 2003. Leopold Stanis%C5%82aw Kronenberg Leopold Stanisław Kronenberg (born 24 March 1812 in Warsaw , Poland , died 5 April 1878 in Nice , France ) was a Polish banker, investor , and financier , and a leader of the 1863 January uprising against
174-615: Is the supreme audit institution and also one of the oldest state institutions in Poland , created under the Second Republic on February 7, 1919, barely 3 months after the restoration of Poland's independence. The Supreme Audit Office was created on the initiative of the Head of State, Józef Piłsudski . Its organisation and functioning are set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and
203-664: The European Union countries, with the European Court of Auditors, International Board of Auditors for NATO , as well as the auditing authorities in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe such as the Czech Republic , Slovakia , Russia , and Hungary . The Supreme Audit Office also cooperates with its European partners within the framework of EUROSAI - the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, which
232-525: The General Government operated under the strict control of the occupation authorities. Reactivated in 1945, the bank was a private industrial and commercial company and cooperative. As one of the three banks which escaped formal nationalization after the war, it was subjected to controls of a government commissioner and the state took a significant amount of shares. During the People's Republic of Poland it
261-595: The Prime Minister . Special types of NIK activities include audits of the state budget execution and of the principles of monetary policy, as well as the NIK opinion in votes of confidence for the Council of Ministers . The NIK fulfils its tasks based on periodic work plans. In the first instance, the audit of the state budget execution is completed, as the NIK is legally bound to conduct this activity. NIK undertakes other audits according to prioritised directions established by
290-632: The Russian Empire . Kronenberg came from a wealthy family of Jewish rabbis. His father Samuel Eleazar Kronenberg (1773–1826) was a native of Wyszogród who led a small bank in Warsaw. His mother was Tekla (Theresa), née Levi (1775–1848). Kronenberg had seven siblings: Ludwik, Rozalia, Stanislaw Solomon, Dorota (the mother of Seweryn Loewenstein [ pl ] ), Maria, Henryk Andrzej (whose daughter Emilia married Polish industrialist Jan Gotlib Bloch , whose family had often been in competition with
319-648: The Sejm , the President of NIK also enjoys immunity: he cannot be arrested or indicted without the consent of the Sejm. Currently, the post of the President of the NIK is held by Marian Banaś, appointed on 30 August 2019. NIK institutes audit proceedings on its own initiative, at the request of Sejm or its bodies or representatives (e.g. the Speaker of Sejm ), the President of the Republic , or
SECTION 10
#1732883971834348-1023: The Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1997 and is a constituent of the WIG20 index. Its current headquarters is in the Jabłonowski Palace . It was founded in 1870 by a group of bourgeoisie financiers, landowners and intelligentsia . The initiator was the financier Leopold Stanisław Kronenberg (1812-1878). The first president of the bank was Jozef Zamoyski . By 1872, the bank had branches and offices in St Petersburg , Moscow , Berlin , Gdańsk (Commerzbank in Warschau), Szczecin and Łódź , and representative offices in Włocławek , Płock , Grójec , Guzów, Lublin and Rawa Mazowiecka . In subsequent years, it opened branches in other cities, including Sosnowiec (1895), Częstochowa (1897) and Kalisz (1898). In
377-519: The fall of communism in Poland , the bank played a key role in the Foreign Debt Service Fund scandal, which had a negative impact on the Polish economy during the early 1990s. It underwent privatization in 1997. In the 21st century, Bank Handlowy merged with Citibank (Poland) SA in 2001, with Citibank becoming its largest shareholder, owning 75% of shares by 2007. The bank has been listed on
406-670: The Director of the Commercial Bank in Luxembourg in the years 1985 - 1990, tried to oppose this practice. A large number of foreign exchange operations conducted by FOZZ were only through the bank. An inspection of the bank by the Supreme Audit Office (Poland) , led by Inspector Halina Ładomirska in 1991-1992 revealed numerous irregularities. The report shows that during the period of foreign exchange market control , they were operated to
435-816: The Kronenbergs), and Władysław Alfons Kronenberg [ pl ] . His eldest sibling Ludwik (born Lewek or "Yehuda Arie Leib") was the only one whose family remained Jewish, while the other siblings each converted to Christianity. After graduating from high school in Warsaw, Kronenberg studied at the University of Technology in Hamburg and at the University of Berlin . Having finished his studies in 1832, he returned to Poland and took up conducting business. In 1846 he converted from Judaism to Protestantism. He married Ernestyna Rozalia Leo (1827–93), daughter of Leopold August Leo ,
464-611: The NIK Act of 23 December 1994. The NIK is subordinate to the Sejm (lower house of the Polish Parliament) and it acts in accordance with the principle of collegial responsibility. The NIK is headed by the President who is appointed by the Sejm for a six-year term of office. The NIK performs audits related to, primarily, the execution of the state budget as well as public finance spending and management of public property by state and local governmental bodies and economic entities. Every year,
493-509: The NIK College for a period of three years. The NIK establishes whether the state fulfils its obligations towards its citizens, as well as indicates areas in which there are concerns, in particular ones that could be hindering proper development. Each year new audit areas are selected according to which specific themes for planned audits are programmed. NIK can also undertake ad hoc audits. The Supreme Audit Office cooperates with similar bodies in
522-618: The NIK submits three key documents to the Sejm: the analysis of the state budget execution and monetary policy guidelines, the opinion on the vote of discharge for the Council of Ministers and the annual report on the NIK’s activity. From its very first day, NIK has been the country's supreme audit institution, empowered to exercise wide-ranging audit of the revenue and expenditure of the state and all institutions and corporations that make use of public funds. NIK
551-549: The Parliament appoints members of the College for a three-year tenure. The tasks of the College include the approval of the analysis of the state budget execution and the principles of fiscal policy, the audit of the NIK’s performance, formulating an opinion concerning certification of performance of duties part of discharge procedure of the government, the work plan and the draft budget for the NIK. The College assesses audit programmes and
580-452: The bank lost a privileged position in foreign trade and began to transform gradually into a commercial bank, opening a number of branches around the country. During the political transformation, the bank (especially a bank branch in Luxembourg) had played a significant role in the scandal of the Foreign Debt Service Fund ( Fundusz Obsługi Zadłużenia Zagranicznego - FOZZ ) Zbigniew Masłowski,
609-514: The concession of the tobacco monopoly in the Kingdom of Poland, Kronenberg amassed a considerable fortune which he used to develop the country's economy: sugar industry, construction of railways, commercial activities, and banking sectors. He was also involved in the rural economy by participating in the work of the Agricultural Society. In 1859, Leopold Kronenberg made his entry into the world of
SECTION 20
#1732883971834638-462: The detriment of the Polish economy with estimated losses during these two years of 5-10 billion dollars. In 1997, the bank was privatized. In 2001 Bank Handlowy merged with Citibank (Poland) SA. Currently, the largest shareholder is Citibank, NA (since 14 August 2007, they have 75% of the shares and 75% of votes at the AGM). Since June 1997, Bank Handlowy has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange , and
667-407: The early years of the twentieth century the bank was the largest private bank in Polish lands and one of the few leading financial services to trade with Russia and Western Europe. During this period, the bank's turnover fluctuated at the level of 2 billion rubles, which was greater than the sum of the then budget of the Russian Empire . The bank made a significant contribution to the construction of
696-484: The outcomes of particularly important audits. It also considers post audit objections. Under the current regulations, NIK is answerable to the Sejm, which appoints its President for a 6-year term, with the approval of the Senate . Terms of office of the President of the NIK do not necessarily coincide with those of the Parliament, which in practice prevents this office from being dependent on any political party. Like members of
725-520: The press by buying the newspaper Gazeta Codzienna , renamed in 1861 as Gazeta Polska . It was a magazine with a liberal-democratic tint, whose editor was Józef Ignacy Kraszewski . Kronenberg was an instigator of and a financial supporter of the January uprising of 1863 against the Russians. To avoid arrest by the Russians, he fled to Dresden in June of that year. After the failure of this revolt, he became
754-468: The railway network and major industrial plants in the Polish Kingdom . In the 1920s and 1930s the bank represented the Polish government's assets in numerous international companies, notably the Danzig Shipyard . The bank did not stop its activities during the two world wars, it only limited activity. During World War II, the bank's branches in the areas annexed by Germany were liquidated, while those in
783-714: Was one of two banks (along with Pekao SA ), operating as a joint stock company . After 1945, the bank was the main Polish foreign correspondent bank, and in 1964 it received the official monopoly on Polish foreign trade transactions. This resulted as a consequence of the construction of the then-largest Polish financial institutional network of correspondent banks, opening a branch in London , foreign representative offices in New York City , Moscow, Belgrade , Rome and Berlin, and affiliation in Vienna , Luxembourg and Frankfurt . After 1989,
812-1006: Was the initiator of the establishment of the Warsaw Sugar Factory Association. He was a member of the National Debt Relief Commission, the Industrial Council of the Government Commission for Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Poland. He was a member of the board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the Senior Merchants' Assembly, the chairman of the Warsaw-Tiraspol Railway Management Board. He
841-844: Was the president of the Warsaw Philanthropic Society. Between 1868 and 1871, he built in Warsaw a monumental home, Kronenberg Palace, which burned in September 1939 and was dismantled in the 1960s. Kronenberg died in 1878 in Nice. He was buried in the Kronenberg family chapel at the Evangelical-Reformed Cemetery in Warsaw. Supreme Audit Office (Poland) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Supreme Audit Office ( Polish : Najwyższa Izba Kontroli , abbreviated NIK )
#833166