Poland's Bank Pekao third-quarter net profit rises 4% (updated)

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA

30/10/2025 06:37

Rewrites throughout; Adds CFO comments in paragraphs 1-2, chief economist comments in paragraphs 4-5, CEO comments in paragraphs 8-9

GDANSK, Oct 30 (Reuters) -
Bank Pekao PEO.WA expects demand for loans to continue rising in 2026 as interest rates come down, the finance chief of Poland's second-biggest lender said on Thursday.

The bank, which is one of Poland's biggest mortgage lenders, reported that net profit rose 4.2% year-on-year in July-September to 1.91 billion zlotys ($525.23 million), above the company-compiled average analyst forecast of 1.85 billion.

The result was supported by a 48% growth in sales of new mortgage loans and a 15% rise in new cash loan sales, Pekao said.

"We see new prospects for the growth of lending activity. Loan volumes in the third quarter are growing faster than in the second quarter," CFO Dagmara Wojnar told reporters.

In October, the National Bank of Poland (NBP)
cut
 its main interest rate for the fourth time this year to 4.50%. Markets are now pricing in an 89% chance of a rate cut in November, according to LSEG data.

"(Credit) volume increases will continue next year, interest rates will be lower, and let's not be afraid to say there will be an investment boom," the bank's chief economist Ernest Pytlarczyk said.

"We don’t know exactly where interest rates will go, but 3.5% seems like a fairly likely scenario — and that's within the coming months or quarters," he added.

Pekao added it was working on expanding its customer base, placing "great emphasis" on attracting young people, but it does not plan international expansion, its CEO Cezary Stypulkowski said.

($1 = 3.6365 zlotys)

 (Reporting by Adrianna Ebert and Anna Jaworska-Guidotti; Editing by Anna Pruchnicka)

 ((Adrianna.Ebert@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 88;))