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25-470: Idea Bank Spółka Akcyjna (currently Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna ) (formerly GMAC Bank Polska SA ) was a bank in Poland, which began operations in 1991 and was taken over by Bank Pekao SA on 3 January 2021 as a part of compulsory restructuring engineered by Poland's Bank Guarantee Fund. The bank's domain was the financial service of small business entities; micro, small and medium enterprises. Idea Bank

50-469: A debt worth 93.6 million zlotys at the time for a majority stake in 1996. In 1997, the approximately 150 stores still operating under the Pewex brand were taken over by Concorde Investissement, and Pewex took over its immovable real estate portfolio as Towarzystwo Handlu i Nieruchomości Pewex S.A. (THiN Pewex) . In 2003, THiN Pewex and Concorde Investissement merged, which resulted in the complete phase-out of

75-504: A decrease in interest margins for 2023, due to higher deposit costs and the potential of the polish central bank reducing interest rates, for the first quarter of 2023 the net interest income grew by 34% to 2.77 billion zlotys ($ 651.1 million), while the net profit surged by 60% to 1.45 billion zlotys ($ 349.7 million). In early 2023, Bank Pekao, alongside three other banks, signed a cooperation agreement with Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE). The agreement aims to provide financing for

100-467: A former Polish spy who was sentenced to life in prison by American authorities for stealing military secrets and was subsequently released in a spy exchange , became the chain's owner and CEO. In 1993, Pewex filed for bankruptcy for the first time. However, this and subsequent bankruptcy filings were rejected. In December 1995, it was announced that a debt restructuring deal would see a bank named Polski Bank Rozwoju, along with two French companies, swap

125-508: A state-owned bank named Pekao . There, the foreign hard currency could be exchanged for both foreign and domestic goods, many of which were unavailable to Poles at that time. Since ownership of hard currency as cash was forbidden and all dollars and Deutschmarks had to be deposited to dollar bank accounts, authorities introduced Bon PeKaO cheques, which were tied to the U.S. Dollar in a 1:1 ratio and could be used as currency in Pekao shops. Later on

150-557: The UEFA EURO in 2012 . Pewex Pewex ( Polish pronunciation: [ˈpɛvɛks] ) (short for Przedsiębiorstwo Eksportu Wewnętrznego – Internal Export Company ) was a chain of hard-currency shops founded in 1972, during the Communist era in Poland that accepted payment only in United States dollars and other hard currencies, instead of the country's indigenous currency,

175-499: The United States , and in Tel Aviv (now Israel ). By 1939 Pekao had branches in the capitals of most countries where Polish emigres had settled. After the end of World War II and the beginning of the Soviet domination in Poland , the bank took care of international financial operations conducted by the authorities of the newly established Polish People's Republic . With the bank's help,

200-447: The Złoty . Pewex was created in the 1970s to help combat Communist Poland's foreign currency deficit. By the late-1960s, it had become apparent that the then socialist centrally-planned economy of Poland was inefficient. The rule of Edward Gierek led to a short period of economic prosperity. With the aid of foreign loans, Gierek instituted a programme to modernise industry and increase

225-653: The Pekao bank created a separate company, Przedsiębiorstwo Eksportu Wewnętrznego – the Pewex. While the letter x is not present in the Polish alphabet , it was used nevertheless. During the Communist era, Poles were allowed to own dollars, something that was not allowed in other Eastern Bloc states. Many Poles at the time also received remittance from friends and family members in the United States. The US Dollars received by Poles could either be used for foreign travel or used at

250-517: The Pewex shops. Products that Poles would otherwise have to wait a long time and settle for their poor imitations could be had immediately by buying them at a Pewex shop. Pewex offered a large number of imported items not available for purchase on the normal market. Items were purchased outside of the rationing system then in place, and customers did not have to queue up for items. Items sold include liquor , cigarettes, household appliances, candy, cars, computers and furniture. Shopping at Pewex at

275-853: The Poles who live abroad could support their families behind the Iron Curtain . In 1968, the Minister of Finance authorized the establishment of foreign currency accounts for persons working abroad in Bank Pekao. Monopoly on their conduct Pekao lost only in 1989 with the onset of economic reforms that swept in Poland and the communist bloc . In the 1970s, currency accounts in Pekao were divided into three categories: Account A for people paying currencies with documented origin, B accounts for payments with undocumented origin, and C accounts for foreigners. The funds from B accounts could not be legally exported abroad, but in 1976

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300-420: The availability of consumer goods. The standard of living increased markedly and for a time he was hailed a miracle-worker. The economy, however, began to falter during the 1973 oil crisis and by 1976 price increases became necessary, mostly to ease the repayment of these loans. To obtain much needed foreign hard currency from Polish society, authorities permitted in 1972 the creation of a network of shops under

325-525: The bank for the amount of PLN 10.6 billion (EUR 2.6 billion). In September 2018 Bank Pekao has opened a representative office in London , with the aim to facilitate cooperation between Poland and the UK and to stay close to their clients and investors. Bank Pekao also plans on opening several other offices across Europe . At the end of 2020, Bank Pekao announced its acquisition of Idea Bank , which

350-472: The bank had branches in virtually every capital city of countries where Poles lived. The full name "Polska Kasa Opieki" may be translated literally as "Polish Bank of Aid", and the popular form "Pekao" sounds out the acronym "PKO". In 1929, the CEO of Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności , Henryk Gruber, observed that there was a demand for a bank that could provide financial services to the eight million Poles living outside

375-419: The construction of several BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMs) in the country. According to Bank Pekao's President, Leszek Skiba, the investment was made because nuclear energy production aligns with Bank Pekao's aspirations to be a leader in Poland's energy transformation. List of Bank Pekao CEOs : Apart from Pekao Bank, Pekao Group's subsidiaries are: Bank Pekao was the official bank and sponsor of

400-603: The country . Starting from these assumptions, on 17 March 1929, the Ministry of Finance established Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna. On 29 October of the same year, the Warsaw District Court entered Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA in the commercial register. The company's shareholders were Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Państwowy Bank Rolny. The first branches were opened in France , Argentina , and

425-493: The rights of A and B accounts were leveled. In 1974, the bank had around 91,000 registered accounts. At the end of the 1980s, the total value of foreign currency accounts was US$ 3.3 billion. Much earlier, in 1960, the bank began issuing its own vouchers, " Bon Towarowy PeKaO ", denominated in US dollars . Initially, for these vouchers (as well as directly for convertible currencies deposited in domestic and foreign bank representations) it

450-629: The then-official exchange rate to the US Dollar of "nearly 300 zlotys to the dollar", with a revenue of 20 billion złoty. As part of the peaceful transition of the economic system in Poland after the 1989 revolution in Poland , the Polish economy was privatised and the ownership of foreign currency was deregulated. This made the Pekao cheques obsolete and soon afterwards most of the goods that had only been available from Pewex stores started to be sold in private shops as well. In 1991, Marian Zacharski ,

475-518: The time was seen as a rather exclusive affair, due to the high cost of its items when compared to the average salary at the time. This turned Pewex into a symbol of luxury and privilege. At the end of 1989, Pewex had a network of 840 shops in Poland. In 1987, Pewex was noted in a report issued by the United States Joint Publications Research Service to have had a sales volume of about 70 billion złoty, based on

500-507: Was controlled by Getin Holding and Getin Noble Bank . Main shareholder was a Polish billionaire Leszek Czarnecki . The operational activities were undertaken by the company in 1991 and are continued to this day. The bank operated as Polbank SA and later as Opel Bank SA . Pursuant to the order of 26 July 2001, the name was changed to GMAC Bank Polska SA (the notarial deed of the amendment

525-508: Was created with the establishment of the Pewex "internal export" company, in 1972 out of the bank's structures. On 3 August 1999, Pekao became a member of the UniCredit company . In December 2016, Polish state-owned PZU together with Polish Development Fund acquired Bank Pekao – Poland's second largest bank previously owned by Italian bank UniCredit by buying a 32.8% stake in

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550-470: Was made on May 24, 2001). Then, by virtue of the order of 13 October 2010, the name was changed to Idea Bank SA. On 31 December 2020, Idea Bank SA was a subject to compulsory restructuring engineered by Poland's Bank Guarantee Fund and has been taken over by Bank Pekao on 3 January 2021. Bank Pekao The bank was founded in 1929 by the Ministry of Treasury as a national bank, mainly to provide financial services to Poles living abroad . In 1939

575-520: Was possible to buy both foreign and deficit domestic goods in the foreign sales network operated directly by Bank Pekao. The offer of the bank for individual clients included a variety of goods covering, among others, groceries (including "Krakus" ham and western chewing gum), alcohol, cosmetics, textiles, household appliances, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, tractors, agricultural machinery, fuel, building materials, installation and sanitary equipment, and also apartments and furniture. This retail network

600-663: Was subjected to compulsory restructuring to prevent bankruptcy . The acquisition was facilitated by Poland's Bank Guarantee Fund (BGF), an institution aiming to maintain stability in the financial system and resolving issues with financially distressed institutions. Since 2022, the Headquarters of the Bank are located in the Forest Tower in Warsaw, Poland. In 2022 Bank Pekao's profits declined by 48.8% due to two main factors. The first reason

625-417: Was the introduction of payment holidays by the Polish government, which allowed mortgage holders to postpone payment instalments, which in turn led to a cost of 2.4 billion zlotys ($ 498.4 million) for the bank. The second reason were the increased provisions for legal risks as Bank Pekao expected a higher number of court cases related to the long-running Swiss franc mortgage affair. After initially predicting

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