Poland's Bank Pekao posts higher Q2 profit on strong loan growth (updated)

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA

07/08/2025 05:41

Recasts on lending growth, adds CEO comment in para 4, chief economist comment in para 5, CFO comment in para 9, share move in para 2, rewrites throughout

GDANSK, Aug 7 (Reuters) -
Poland's Bank Pekao PEO.WA reported a 12.8% rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating market expectations, as an acceleration in lending fuelled a rise in its net interest income.

As of 0918 GMT, the bank's shares had risen 4.2% to their highest price since January 2008, outperforming Poland's blue-chip WIG20 .WIG20 index, which was up 2.3%.

Chief executive Cezary Stypulkowski attributed this to an acceleration in the credit market in the first half of the year, driven partly by a revival in investment.

Based on data from July, the bank sees a continuation of the loan growth trend from the second quarter, he told a press conference.

Lower interest rates have been a key catalyst for resurgent credit demand, Pekao's chief economist, Ernest Pytlarczyk, told a press conference, estimating pent-up demand in the mortgage market could be as high as 70 billion zlotys.

The country's second biggest lender by total assets' total loan portfolio grew by 6.5% year-on-year to 193 billion zlotys ($52.96 billion) at the end of June, supported by double-digit growth in key areas.

Lending to small and medium-sized enterprises rose 13% year-on-year and cash loans were up 11%, while new mortgage sales in the quarter jumped 16% to 2.8 billion zlotys.

The lending increase comes as Poland's central bank resumed its monetary policy easing cycle, with two rate cuts in May and
July
 - the first since October 2023 - bringing the main rate to 5.00%.

CFO Dagmara Wojnara told reporters that the positive impact on net interest margin from the repricing of its bond portfolio would help to "neutralize" the effect of falling interest rates.

The bank's second-quarter net interest income rose 17.9% year-on-year to 3.45 billion zlotys, its report showed, as net interest margin widened to 4.26% from 4.22% a year earlier.

($1 = 3.6441 zlotys)

 (Reporting by Rafal Nowak and Anna Jaworska-Guidotti;
Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)

 ((RafalWojciech.Nowak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 63;))