The Polish treasury ministry has officially requested that the banking supervisory authority freeze UniCredito's voting rights, over a 71% stake in Bank BPH. The treasury ministry has sent a letter, explaining its interest in becoming a party to the discussion of the UniCredito case, at the next commission meeting on March 8. Whilst the banking supervisory authority is said to be independent, 3 out of 7 members are political appointees of the PiS.
In addition, the European Commission has confirmed on Friday that it will sue Poland to EU court for blocking the merger of Bank BPH with Bank Pekao. Officials have stated that the Polish government breached a clause in the EU treaty, guaranteeing the free movement of capital between member states. The Polish government would also be warned it has violated the Commission's sole jurisdiction over pan-European mergers. The official decision on the legal response is to be taken on March 8.
We expect very little trading impact from the newsflow over the weekend on Bank BPH and Bank Pekao. The outcome of the banking supervisory meeting on March 8 is widely anticipated and will be the next trigger for the stocks.