Historical background

• Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności was established on 7 February 1919 by virtue of a decree signed by the Head of the country Józef Piłsudski, Prime Minister Ignacy Paderewski and Hubert Linde – PKO’s founder and first president.
• Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności was vested with legal personality as a state institution, operating under the supervision of and with the guarantee of the State.
• The first local branch of Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności was opened in Poznań.
• Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności began running School Savings Unions (Szkolne Kasy Oszczędności).
• With the initiative of Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności, the Ministry of the Treasury decided to set up Bank Polska Kasa Opieki (today Pekao SA) as a public company to facilitate the transfer of foreign currencies to Poland by Poles living abroad.
• Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności strongly contributed to the development of non-cash transactions – every other larger industrial plant and every large enterprise had a cheque account with Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności, and cheque turnover in Poland was one and a half times higher than the cash turnover.

The Second World War was a period in which Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności’s activity came to a standstill and it suffered huge losses.

• Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności was transformed into Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności.
• The Banking Law Act introduced a privilege for saving deposits held in Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności; they were covered by a State guarantee.
• Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności introduced a modern product: a current account.
• In the years 1975–1987, Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności was merged into the structures of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), yet it retained its identity.

• The first Internet information portal of the Bank and the first e-PKO Internet branch were launched.
• PKO Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych SA (PKO TFI S.A.) began its operations.
• PKO BP BANKOWY PTE SA was formed.
• Bankowy Fundusz Leasingowy SA (currently PKO Leasing SA) was formed which provides operating and finance leases of non-current assets and property.
• PKO BP, as one of the founders, formed Centrum Elektronicznych Usług Płatniczych eService SA (currently CEUP eService Sp. z o.o.).
• In 2000, the Bank was transformed into a joint-stock company fully owned by the State Treasury under the name Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (PKO Bank Polski SA).

• The Bank acquired Inteligo Financial Services SA, a company that provides services covering the maintenance and development of ICT systems used in banking systems, also including electronic access to bank accounts (Inteligo account).
• The Bank acquired 66.65% shares in KREDOBANK SA. The company is registered and operates in Ukraine. At present, the Bank holds 100% of shares in the company’s share capital.
• In 2004, PKO Bank Polski SA’s floatation took place – at the end of the first day of quotations, shares reached a price of PLN 24.50 against the issue price fixed at PLN 20.50.
• PKO BP Faktoring SA (currently PKO Faktoring SA) began its operations.

• 2013–2015 strategy: “PKO Bank Polski. Every day the best” strengthened the position of the Bank’s Group as a leader in key market segments.
• In 2013, PKO Bank Polski SA set a new standard of mobile payments – IKO – an innovative solution on the market of mobile payments, transformed in 2015 into the BLIK payment system, which became the Polish market standard.
• PKO Bank Polski SA signed an agreement for a twenty-year strategic alliance in the electronic payment market with EVO Payments International Acquisition GmbH, and at the same time sold a significant portion of shares in CEUP eService sp. z o.o.
• PKO Bank Hipoteczny SA was formed; its operations include issuing long-term mortgage bonds and granting long-term mortgage loans to retail customers.
• PKO Bank Polski SA acquired shares in Nordea Group companies, including shares in Nordea Bank Polska SA, and a portfolio of amounts due from corporate customers. In October 2014, the merger of the banks was carried out.
• PKO Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń SA was formed, which provides property insurance services to the retail customers of PKO Bank Polski SA.
• Expansion into foreign markets by establishing the first foreign branch of the Bank (in Frankfurt-am-Main in the Federal Republic of Germany).

• Approval of the 2016–2020 strategy: “We support the development of Poland and the Poles” the objective of which is to continue to strengthen the position of the Bank’s Group as a leader in key market segments, enhance innovativeness and adapt to customer needs.
• PKO Leasing SA belonging to the Bank’s Group successfully closed the transaction of acquiring Raiffeisen-Leasing Polska SA, thus becoming the main lease provider in Poland.
• The Bank’s Group acquired KBC TFI SA and the merger with PKO TFI SA helped additionally accelerate the current dynamic development of PKO TFI SA, and strengthened its leading position in the retail funds segment.
• The Bank’s Group was increased for ZenCard sp. z o.o., which provides services within the scope of IT and computer technologies.
• PKO Bank Polski SA continued its development abroad and formed the second foreign branch – the corporate branch in Prague.

• PKO Bank Polski SA is the most valuable company quoted on the WSE. The value of the Bank’s shares as at the end of the year was almost PLN 50 billion.
• PKO Bank Polski SA established an investment fund managed by PKO TFI SA under the business name PKO VC, which pursues an appropriate policy for a venture capital fund and invests in technological financial innovations.
• A company Operator Chmury Krajowej sp. z o.o. was established to provide comprehensive commercial information management services for businesses and public institutions.
• As the only company in Poland from among 37, PKO Bank Polski SA was accepted to the FTSE Russell index for large companies in developed markets.
• The IKO application ranked first in the ranking of mobile applications of the 100 largest banks in the world with a total of more than 3.1 million activations.