The Local Development Ministry (LDM) is planning to launch a tender for a bank with a nationwide network of branches that would lend money to newlyweds with interest subsidized by the government. The project should be launched on January 2005. All leading banks including KB, CSOB, CS (part of Erste Bank), GE Capital, Raiffeisenbank and HVB have expressed their interested in the tender. We believe that the subsidized loans to newlyweds would have a positive impact on loan book expansion for the providing bank, its interest income and possibly sales of its other banking products.
Tomáš Gatěk, Patria Finance