Bank Polska Kasa Opieki

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A. (Bank Pekao) is a Polish universal bank, founded in 1929 on the initiative of Henryk Gruber, with the aim of providing financial services to Poles abroad. Since 1998, it has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and in 2017 it came under the control of Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń (PZU) and Polski Fundusz Rozwoju (PFR), which are linked to the State Treasury. Currently, the bank's headquarters are located at ulica Żubra 1 in Warsaw. During the interwar period, the bank opened branches in countries with large Polish emigration, such as France and Argentina. After World War II, the bank became an important tool for handling international financial operations for emigrants. In 1989, following the political transformation, Pekao transformed into a universal bank, and in 1991 it opened the first brokerage office in Poland. A key moment in its history was its privatization and inclusion into the structure of the Italian-German consortium UniCredit, which lasted from 1999 to 2017. In 2016, the bank's shares were sold to PZU and PFR. A famous rebranding effort was the introduction of the bison logo, which references Polish culture. Bank Pekao has won numerous awards in the banking sector and is also recognized for its technological innovations, such as the PeoPay mobile payment system. An interesting fact is that in 2008, there was a data protection mishap when the personal data of internship applicants was publicly disclosed. This event led to controversy and compensation payments. As part of a larger group, Bank Pekao offers a full range of financial services and remains one of the key players in the Polish banking market.