BGZ Bank


BGZ Bank, for Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej, was a significant bank in Poland based in Warsaw.
BGZ was created in 1975 by merger of two pre-existing financial institutions supporting Poland's agricultural and cooperative banking sector. In Poland's post-communist transition, BGZ Bank grew as a commercial bank while its role as a national entity serving local cooperative banks was gradually eroded to the benefit of competing entities, resulting in the formation of the BPS Group and SGB Group.
In 2015, BGZ Bank was acquired by BNP Paribas which renamed it Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas. The BGŻ brand was finally terminated in 2019 when the entity became BNP Paribas Bank Polska.

Communist era

On, Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej was created from the merger of the Central Union of Polish Savings and Loan Cooperatives with the state-owned. At its inception, BGZ was jointly owned by 1,663 local cooperative banks, together holding 46 percent of its equity capital, and by the State Treasury which held 54 percent.
Initially, BGZ had a hands-on mandate and made or approved strategic banking decisions for the local cooperative banks. In 1982, in yet another swing of the political pendulum, new legislation gave back some autonomy to Poland's cooperative banks, which were to deposit their excess funds at BGZ Bank.

Post-Communist transition

The Cooperative Act of deprived BGZ of its statutory role as their auditing organization and allowed individual local cooperative banks to associate themselves on a voluntary basis with a central financial entity known as "affiliating bank". Following the reform, BGZ was soon competing for that role with newly created affiliating banks such as Gospodarczy Bank Wielkopolski and Bank Unii Gospodarczej, then Gospodarczy Bank Południowo-Zachodni. In 1992, of Poland's 1,651 local cooperative banks, the vast majority were still affiliated with BGZ, 11 percent with GBPZ, 7 percent with GBW, and 5 percent with BUG.
In 1994, in a context of financial stress in the cooperative banking sector, BGZ was converted into a joint-stock company, with the state retaining 66 percent of its equity and the local cooperative banks owning the remaining 34 percent. That same year, BGZ Bank's brokerage arm was the first brokerage authorized by the Polish Securities Commission. In 1997, BGZ Bank opened a representative office in Moscow. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the marginalization of BGZ as an affiliating organization was accelerated by the formation of alternative groups, first through loose alliances then by mergers of other affiliated banks.

Acquisition by Rabobank

By November 2004, the Polish state still owned 69 percent of BGZ Bank, the rest being held by affiliating banks of the Polish cooperative sector such as Bank BPS or . On, Rabobank acquired a 13.8 percent stake, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development acquired a 15 percent stake. On, Rabobank raised its stake to 35.3 percent by buying out the other cooperative banks, and also acquired the EBRD's stake in 2008.
By early July 2011, Rabobank's stake had grown to 59.35 percent while the Polish state owned 37.3 percent. On, BGZ Bank was floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. By end-2011, Rabobank still held 59.35 percent while the state had 25.54 percent, and 15.11 percent was free float. On, Rabobank increased its share in BGZ Bank to 98.3 percent. By 2013, BGZ Bank had a total staff of 5,538 full-time equivalents.

Acquisition by BNP Paribas

On, Rabobank agreed to sell BGZ Bank to BNP Paribas together with its separate Polish subsidiary, Rabobank Polska. BGZ and Rabobank Polska were merged on, then BGZ absorbed the existing BNP Paribas Bank Polska on, and issued new shares on the Polish Stock Exchange on with BNP Paribas keeping a majority stake.
In 2018, Bank BGZ BNP Paribas acquired the operations of with support from the EBRD. In 2019, the BGŻ brand was finally terminated and replaced with BNP Paribas Bank Polska.

Presidents

  • Alexander Paklons
  • Frederic Amoudru
  • Józef Wancer