Poland's PKO BP beats Q2 profit view as lower legal costs, higher fees cushion tax hike (updated)

Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski SA

13/08/2026 06:25

Adds background in paragraph 2, additional details on results in paragraphs 4-5, 7, background on consumer loan litigation in paragraph 6.
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Poland's top bank PKO BP PKO.WA reported a forecast-beating second-quarter profit on Thursday, as higher fee income and lower legal costs tied to Swiss franc loans offset a higher tax bill and falling net interest income.
Polish banks are looking for stronger lending and fee income to support earnings, after the central bank cut rates several times since May 2025 and the government hiked banks' corporate income tax to 30% to fund higher defence spending.
PKO BP posted a net profit of 2.77 billion zlotys ($741 million) for the three months through June, compared with analysts' median forecast of 2.70 billion zlotys compiled by the bank.
Net interest income dipped around 1% to 6.07 billion zlotys but beat market expectations of 5.98 billion zlotys, boosted by a 37% jump in new mortgage and consumer lending.
PKO BP cut its net interest income by 173 million zlotys after a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice that barred lenders from charging interest on some loan costs, the bank said.
The ruling has fuelled claims that under Polish consumer protection law let borrowers repay loans interest-free if disclosure rules were breached.
The lender's net fee and commission income jumped more than 10% to 1.41 billion zlotys, above forecasts of 1.39 billion zlotys, helped by higher fees related to investment fund management, treasury bond sales and stock exchange turnover.
($1 = 3.7384 zlotys)

(Reporting by Rafal Nowak in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
((RafalWojciech.Nowak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 63;))