Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A.

Bank Pekao said 2025 was its best year ever for profit. Reported loan growth was 8% overall, with retail loans up 5% and corporate loans up 11%; cash loans were up 13%. Deposits grew 4%, assets under management at TFI were up 20% year over year, and commissions grew almost 11% year over year. The cost of risk was 39 basis points, versus strategy assumptions of 65-70 basis points, and the 4Q NIM was 4.7%. Management said 3-month WIBOR fell 7% year over year, while the interest margin stayed at the same level overall. For capital, management said CET was 15% and that MREL requirements were met with a surplus. Forward-looking, management expects 2 or 3 rate cuts, warned that keeping NIM at the current level will be a challenge, and reiterated dividend intentions in the 50%-75% of net profit range, with comfort “within the scope.”

Cezary Stypulkowski framed 2025 as a year of execution: faster lending growth, stronger fee income, and a better mix toward higher-margin products. He said the bank is catching up on technology and digital capabilities after years of underinvestment, while still preserving the core strengths in corporate and public-sector banking. His tone was confident but guarded, stressing that some achievements, especially margin resilience, may be hard to repeat if rates keep falling.

Dagmara Wojnar highlighted the mechanics behind the results: loan growth of 8% overall, deposits up 4%, nearly 500,000 new accounts opened, and around 35% of those for customers up to age 26. She said commissions rose almost 11% year over year, helped by loans, cards, brokerage, and success fees tied to investment fund results. On costs, personnel expenses fell year over year after a voluntary exit program, while depreciation and amortization rose 17% as the bank invested in IT, telecom, branch modernization, and call-center upgrades. She also said the bank issued MREL and Tier 2 debt with almost threefold oversubscription, met CET and MREL requirements, and ended 2025 with its highest profit ever.

Analysts focused on mortgages, asking about refinancing, prepayments, and whether the market is really growing or mostly rotating existing loans. Management said early repayment in Pekao is about 1/5 of new mortgage products, that reported sales overstate truly new money, and that contract annexes lower rates without showing up as new production. Another question was whether the strategy should be updated earlier given the faster investment cycle and technology catch-up; management said the strategy runs through 2027 and may be deepened from 2027 onward toward the bank’s 2029 centenary. On dividends, management said the comfort zone is within the 50%-75% range, while the PZU-related transaction remains dependent on legal and shareholder developments.