AIB will consider any proposal from the Polish government to reduce the state stake in Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy (WBK), according to Mr David McCrossan of AIB.
"We would be very interested to see any announcement from the government. We are very happy with our investment," he said.
The managing director of AIB European Investments was responding to a report that the Polish finance ministry plans to announce a sale of shares by tender later this month.
AIB already owns 16.3 per cent of WBK and has an option to acquire the 24 per cent stake owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Polish government owns 25 per cent and the balance is widely dispersed among employees and small shareholders.
Mr McCrossan stressed that AIB could not decide if it was interested "before we know what the government intends and what package is on the table. We will wait and see how it is offered. We are happy with our present position. The investment is doing well. But we are interested to know what is being proposed".
AIB was already "the strategic shareholder" in WBK because its shares and options accounted for just over 40 per cent of the bank's 68 million shares, he insisted.
The publicly quoted bank recently reported profits after tax of £25 million for the 11 months to the end of November 1995 compared with full-year results for 1994 of £19 million.
When the Polish government floated WBK on the market as part of its privatisation programme, the shares were priced at 1.4 zlotys. The current share price is six zlotys (£1.5p), valuing the bank at just over £100 million.
In February 1995, AIB completed its £13 million acquisition of a 16.3 per cent stake in WBK. AIB had earlier agreed to act as underwriter for the £12 million public offering of WBK shares.
At that time, AIB said it would not immediately exercise its right to buy more shares from the EBRD.
AIB's purchase was approved by the National Bank of Poland - approval was required because it was acquiring more than 10 per cent of the WBK.
WBK is the dominant domestic bank in western Poland. Through a twinning arrangement made in 1991 under a World Bank scheme, AIB acted as a consultant in modernising the bank. WBK has 48 branches and 12 sub-branches. It employs 4,000 people and has assets of more than £700 million.
Taking the stake in WBK was part of AIB's plan to diversify into central European economies with strong growth prospects.
AIB was examining investment prospects in other central European economies but no moves were imminent, Mr McCrossan said. Recently it announced a twinning agreement with the Bank of St Petersburg in Russia.
