In 2013, PKO Bank Polski SA and other entities of the PKO Bank Polski SA Group have been granted numerous prizes and awards, including the following:
Products and services
IKO among the prize winners of the Effective Mobile Marketing Awards 2013
IKO mobile payments – an innovative solution created by PKO Bank Polski SA became a prize winner of an international Effective Mobile Marketing Awards 2013 competition organised by Mobile Marketing Magazine. The IKO application was awarded in the category: Most Effective Mobile Payment Solution. The competition’s organisers appreciated IKO for its attractive looks and usefulness to customers.
IKO awarded in the competition of the Electronic Economy Congress (Kongres Gospodarki Elektronicznej)
The Chapter of the 8th Congress of Electronic Economy organised under the aegis of the Association of Polish Banks granted IKO a prize in the category Project of the Year. Wojciech Bolanowski, Director of the Electronic Banking Division of PKO Bank Polski SA, was awarded the title of Ambassador of Electronic Economy in the Competition.
Gold Banker of 2012 (Zloty Bankier 2012)
In the fourth edition of the competition PKO Bank Polski SA received the most positive opinions in the category best mortgage loan, coming first with 37% votes. For the third time in the history of the plebiscite, Internet users appreciated mortgage loan ‘Wlasny Kat Hipoteczny’. Voters to banking services and products also distinguished PKO Konto za Zero (account at no charge) in the category Best Personal Account for Internet users, the Internet Inteligo account in the category Best Company Account for Businesses and mobile banking.
The Chapter of the contest also awarded PKO Banki Polski SA in special categories. The project of School Saving Unions was awarded in the category Most Innovative Product for 2012 as was the advertising spot ‘Poznaj Moc Oszczedzania’ (Know the Power of Saving) promoting savings lessons in SKO for the youngest.
Most interesting banking card
Two cards issued by the Bank won in the competition for the Most Interesting Banking Card 2012. Internet users participating in the poll organised on the Banking-Magazine.pl portal decided that PKO Visa Ekspres and PKO Visa Gold distinguish themselves by their unique graphic design.
The title of the most interesting card for personal account was won by the card which was the most popular with the Bank’s customers – PKO Visa Ekspres ‘Czarny Kot’. Debit Card issued to current accounts is one of the 18 thematically different images of PKO Visa Ekspres. In the category Most Interesting Gold Card the Internet users chose PKO Visa Gold. In addition to the prestige, it offers many practical solutions that guarantee the holder the convenience and comfort.
Brokerage activities
The Brokerage House awarded by WSE
The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski SA received a prize in the category of bond market for the highest turnover realised by a market maker on the Catalyst market in 2013 and in the category of market shares for the largest offering value of the companies placed in the Main Market in 2013 and for the largest number of companies introduced on the Main Market in 2013.
The prizes were awarded to leaders of the Polish capital market by the Warsaw Stock Exchange. During ‘Summary of the Stock year 2013’ Gala the Issuers, Members of the Stock Exchange and Authorised Advisors, who particularly contributed to the development of the Polish stock exchange market in the previous year, were awarded.
The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski SA, leader in the Forbes rankings
The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski SA was the winner in the Forbes’ ranking of brokerage houses according to institutional investors, advancing from 5th position. It also maintained a high 3rd position in the Ranking of the best brokerage houses in the opinion of individual investors.
It’s professional and individual approach, the quality of recommendations and analyses, the quality of services on the primary and secondary markets, as well as its ability to build relationships were the key to this year’s success of The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski SA.
Bulls and Bears (Byki i niedzwiedzie)
During the 19th edition of the ‘Bulls and Bears’ competition organised by the journal of the Stock Exchange Parkiet , The Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski SA was awarded the title of the ‘Brokerage House of the year 2012’ (‘Dom maklerski roku 2012’) for changes and effectively aspiring to consolidate its position.
In 2012 the Brokerage House of PKO Bank Polski SA significantly strengthened its position and ranked third on the shares market among the brokerage houses on the WSE. It increased by leaps its share in trading on the secondary market shares (including bundle transactions).
PKO Bank Polski SA was nominated in the category ‘the Company of the year with WIG20’. Awards of the journal of the Stock Exchange Parkiet are granted to companies, institutions and people who stand out in the capital market and contribute to the development, popularising and expansion of the capital market in Poland the most.
Financial results
The 50 largest banks in Poland
Once again PKO Bank Polski SA won the ranking of ‘50 largest banks in Poland’ prepared by the editors of ‘Miesiecznik Finansowy Bank’. Among others capital adequacy ratio, the growth rate of lending activity and an increase in deposits, as well as the level of bad debts were taken into account in the appraisal. The final appraisal was also affected by ratios such as profitability, the sum of the accumulated capitals and number of employees.
Bank appreciated in Forbes rankings
In the Forbes ranking of the most dynamically developing public companies, PKO Bank Polski SA ranked second in the ‘Banks’ category. These distinctions are granted to the best, fastest and most dynamically developing public companies, selected on the basis of the rate of growth in sales, assets, equity, profitability ratios and results achieved during the last three years.
Awards for the Management Board of the Bank
Visionaries 2013
Zbigniew Jagiello, President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski SA was awarded the title of ‘Visionary 2013’. Mr. Jagiello was appreciated for his contribution to the development of the financial sector, in reinforcing the Bank’s position as market leader and determination in changing the Bank’s image.
'Visionaries’ is a prize awarded by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna for leading personalities in Polish business. It honours top managers, who implement new projects by raising the value of the company with the vision, despite unfavourable market environment.
Man of the Year 2013
Zbigniew Jagiello was selected Man of the Year. The Brief magazine grants this title to people that distinguished themselves especially during the last year for the development of their sector and the entire Polish economy. Zbigniew Jagiello was appreciated for the way in which he managed PKO Bank Polski SA, first of all for initiating the development of the local mobile payments standard based on the innovative IKO solution.
Platinum Antenna
The President of PKO Bank Polski SA received a special award, the Platinum Antenna awarded by the Chapter of the Gold and Crystal Antennas of the Media (Konkurs Zlotych i Krysztalowych Anten Swiata Mediów) ‘For effective building of convergence between the financial and telecommunications sector’.
The purpose of the competition organised by MM Conferences Polska is to distinguish those who contribute to the telecommunications and media market development in Poland, popularisation of the most interesting products and solutions and promotion of Polish technical thought.
The event accompanies the Telecommunications and Media World Symposium. Each year, it gathers persons having a significant impact on the development of the telecommunications sector: presidents of the leading firms operating on the market, representatives of institutions, offices and chambers. The symposium is an excellent platform for dialogue on the development of media and telecommunications on various areas - the participants’ debate on the most significant changes occurring on the market, analyse trends and look for business models enabling the execution of adopted strategies.
Finance Director of the Year
The Chapter of the competition honoured Bartosz Drabikowski, Vice President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski SA, responsible for the Area of Finance and Accounting, for expansive understanding of the duties of a Finance Director and for his input in supporting business and implementing innovation.
The objective of the competition ‘Finance Director of the Year’ (Dyrektor Finansowy Roku) is to award and promote those persons who manage the finances of businesses,in particular those who effectively operate in a changing market environment and are professionals and business visionaries who build shareholder value. Appraising candidates, the Chapter analysed their professional achievements, qualifications, professional career, contribution in building the company's competitive position in the market, the ability to overcome difficulties and crises, professional reliability and ethics, experience in procuring funds and economic performance of companies.
Prof. Remigiusz Kaszubski Award
Piotr Alicki, Vice President of the Bank’s Management Board was honoured with the Prof. Remigiusz Kaszubski Award granted for innovative banking solutions.
The Chapter of the competition awarded Vice President Piotr Alicki for managing innovative projects in the area of electronic banking. He is responsible for implementing application and infrastructure solutions which allow the Bank to offer increasingly modern products and services to its customers. The Bank’s latest achievement is implementing the proprietary IKO application.
The Prof. Remigiusz Kaszubski Award was established by the Management Board of the Association of Polish Banks to commemorate the tragically deceased prof. Remigiusz Kaszubski, creator of innovative solutions in these areas.
The brand
The Polish President’s Business Prize (Nagroda Gospodarcza Prezydenta RP)
PKO Bank Polski SA was honoured with the Polish President’s Business Prize for compliance with corporate governance principles and activity in corporate social responsibility.
It was the only laureate to receive two nominations. The Chapter of the Competition awarded them in the categories of Corporate Governance and corporate Social Responsibility (The Bank also received the award in this category last year), and Innovation. The nominations and prize called the ‘Polish Business Nobel’ (Polski Gospodarczy Nobel) are a sign of recognition of the Bank’s input to the country’s business development and to building a positive image of the Polish economy.
The Bank leading the Top Marka ranking
PKO Bank Polski SA is the most frequently and best described in media banking sector institution, as shown by the 6th Top Marka ranking. On average, four thousand bits of information about the Bank appear each month in the media and web portals and 7 thousand appear on forums, blogs and social services. In the analysed period from July 2012 to June 2013, media and Internet users appreciated, among others, the introduction of the Bank’s innovative products on the market, primarily the new mobile payment system IKO. They also acknowledged the increasing quality of services provided by the Bank.
Innovator 2013
For the second year in a row, PKO Bank Polski SA was elected the most innovative firm in the banking sector in the third edition of the Wprost weekly’s ranking. The Bank was rewarded for regular investments in modern processes aimed at introducing innovative services and technological solutions on the market in all market segments. The competition rewarded firms which contribute to the development of innovations and increase the competitiveness of the Polish economy.
The weekly’s list was prepared based on the TOP500 List of the Most Innovative Companies in Poland prepared by the team of scientists from the Institute of Economic Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences. On its basis the editorial section chose the firms considered as innovation leaders in selected and most promising sectors of the economy.
PKO Bank Polski SA appreciated for the quality of its services
PKO Bank Polski SA was the unbeatable winner of the ‘Internetowy Ranking Jakosci Obslugi w Bankach 2013’ (‘Internet Ranking of Service Quality in Banks for 2013’). This was influenced by the average result of three sub-rankings: the rank of service quality, positive assessment ranking and response rate on Facebook.
When creating the ranking prepared by IRCentre, SentiOne and Napoleon, the opinions of internet users and the activity of banks on their Facebook profiles were taken into account. The ranking took into account 17.8 thousand spontaneous posts about 23 banks posted in the Web from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2013, which were related to one of the four aspects: using the bank facilities, online transactional system, call centres and mobile banking.
Bank Quality (Jakosc na Bank) 2013
PKO Bank Polski SA was one of the best and took third place in the ranking prepared by TNS Polska and ‘Puls Biznesu’. The pollsters especially appreciated the Bank’s employees for their active salesmanship, commitment and diligent analysis of the needs and expectations of customers. Such a high score in the ranking - the Bank achieved a score 71.4% compared to last year - is a result of the implemented system activities in improving the quality of service and the service offered to customers.
In a study conducted by TNS following areas were taken into account: presentation of the offer, customer needs analysis, the beginning of the visit, the atmosphere of the conversation, end of the meeting and the appearance of the employee and the workplace.
Private Equity Diamonds
PKO Bank Polski SA was honoured with a golden statuette in the competition Private Equity Diamonds in the Best Bank of the Year category. The objective of the competition is to promote people and firms related to the private equity sector who have contributed through their activity to the value growth of Polish enterprises, and who stand out due to their high specialist knowledge standards, economic effectiveness and innovativeness.
The chapter of the competition nominated over 40 Private Equity sector leaders in eight categories: best fund of the year, best launch of the year, best bank of the year, corporate finance advisor of the year, legal advisor of the year, transaction of the year, personality of the year and best portfolio company of the year.
Lamparty Award
PKO Bank Polski SA was the winner of the ‘Lampart 2013’ Award in the competition for the most admirable creation of a bank brand conducted among financial institution employees by TNS Polska.
In rewarding the Bank with the ‘Lampart 2013’ Award, the banking community appreciated a change in the brand’s perception and positioning, innovativeness, a constant and consistent media campaign and an attractive product offer. In the survey conducted, the participants were not allowed to disclose the banks in which they were employed.
Reliable Brand (Marka Godna Zaufania)
For the ninth time, PKO Bank Polski SA received the Golden Statuette in the European Trusted Brands survey. The award is granted to those brands which gained the highest consumers’ confidence. It was awarded the Golden Statuette of Reliable Brand in the ‘Bank’ category.
The Bank was selected by 27% of participants in the Reader’s Digest Magazin, which aim is to identify brands most trusted by European consumers.
Banking World Leader
The chapter of the Banking World Leader Competition (Konkurs Liderów Swiata Bankowosci) awarded prizes to PKO Bank Polski SA in the following categories: Best Bank (with equity over PLN 1.5 billion) and Most Innovative Bank in 2012 for a new offer of the School Savings Unions (Szkolne Kasy Oszczednosci).
This was the second edition of the competition which was held as part of the Polish Business Congress. Its chapter is formed by renowned experts in finance, members of the government and economic journalists. Awards are granted to people and firms who contributed the most to the development of the Polish financial sector in the past year.
PKO Bank Polski SA again awarded the most valuable brand title
First place in the finance category and second place in the general classification of the Polish brands ranking. The brand of the banking sector leader was valued at PLN 3.7 billion. Since 2006, being the first edition of the ranking taking into account the financial sector companies, PKO Bank Polski SA has been the most valuable and strongest brand. Since that time, its value has tripled and increased by PLN 2.5 billion. In this year’s edition of the Rzeczpospolita ranking, the total value of the 330 most valuable Polish brands increased to almost PLN 60 billion. Participation in the Most Valuable Brands Ranking is open only to those brands which were formed in Poland, regardless of the country of origin of their current owner.
Value of PKO BP SA brand according to valuation of Rzeczpospolita within the ranking of the most valuable Polish brands (in PLN billion)
For the purposes of the ranking, a worldwide used method relief from royalty was adopted. It is based on hypothetical licensing fees that the user of the brand would have to pay, if he did use it basing on the license agreement. Such a fee is settled in relation to net income on sales.
Employer
PKO Bank Polski SA among the most wanted employers
The results of the 4th edition of ‘The most wanted employers in 2013 in the opinion of specialists and managers’ survey have shown that PKO Bank Polski SA is among the five most wanted employers in the ‘Banking, insurance, financial institutions’ category.
The assessment covered the style of management and organisational culture in the firm, innovativeness, stability of employment, training opportunities, salary level, promotion possibilities, location, work-life balance, and benefits such as health care and life insurance.
The survey carried out by Antal International under the patronage of the Business Centre Club was attended by 3 085 specialists and managers from Poland representing 9 disciplines.
Employer Branding Excellence Awards 2013
PKO Bank Polski SA won the first prize for the image and recruitment campaign entitled ‘One Bank. Many Passions’ (Jeden Bank. Wiele Pasji) in the Excellent Employer Branding Strategy category in the Employer Branding Excellence Awards 2013 competition organised by HRM Institute and Markline. The award in this category is granted to institutions which have successfully developed and implemented such a strategy in their organisation. A well-defined and implemented strategy has a significant influence on attracting, employment and retention of talents.
Solid Employer of the Decade
PKO Bank Polski SA was awarded the ‘Solid Employer of the Decade’ (Solidny Pracodawca Dekady) title in the 10th jubilee edition of the
nationwide competition organised by the ‘Solid Employer of the Year Programme’ (Program Solidny Pracodawca Roku). The title is evidence that the Bank is among the Polish companies which offer the best and most stable conditions of employment and development to their staff.
The competition ‘Solid Employer’ is one of the most prestigious Polish HR projects, selecting companies which distinguish themselves with the most interesting HR policy solutions; the competition is conducted under the patronage of ‘Rzeczpospolita’, daily supplement ‘Rzecz o Biznesie’.
The Ideal Employer
PKO Bank Polski SA found itself among the most desired employers in the rankings prepared based on students’ opinions. The high position of the Bank is confirmed by research of the international company Universum Global , and the students’ association AIESEC conducted among students of the best universities in Poland.
PKO Bank Polski ranked third in the Business category receiving the title of Ideal Employer 2013 in one of the most prestigious employer rankings among students – the Universum Student Survey . It was the only bank among the first ten in the ranking.
Employer of the year 2012
PKO Bank Polski SA was awarded in the ranking of most desired employers in this year’s edition of the Employer of the Year 2012 poll organised by the international students’ organisation AIESEC. Students from economic departments participating in the poll ranked sixth the Bank; thus advancing it from 10th place in the previous year. PKO Bank Polski is the only Polish company among the first ten companies in the ranking and is the most desired employer in the banking sector. It is among such firms as: Ernst & Young, PwC, Google and Deloitte.
Awards for the other Group entities
Silver Pearl of the Market (Srebrna Perla Rynku) FMCG 2013
The cooperation agreement in respect of warranting lease transactions signed by PKO Leasing SA and Mazowiecki Fundusz Poreczen Kredytowych Sp. z o.o. was awarded the Silver Pearl of the Market FMCG 2013 in the category Best Lease Offer, in the poll organised by the monthly Wiadomosci Handlowe.
Good Company 2013
Centrum Elektronicznych Uslug Platniczych eService Sp. z o.o (until 30 December the subsidiary of the Bank), as a part of the Rzeczpospolita daily ranking has received the title of ‘best growing company of a list of 2 000 Polish companies’.
IKE 2013
Indywidualne Konto Emerytalne PKO TFI offered under the Pension Package PKO TFI (IKE + IKZE) took third place in the ranking of Individual Retirement Accounts published by the research centre Analizy Online.
Solid Employer 2013
PKO Leasing SA was awarded the ‘Solid Employer 2013’ (‘Solidny Pracodawca 2013’) title in the 11th edition of the nationwide competition Solid Employer of the Year.
Banking safety – Ukraine
KREDOBANK SA won the first international competition ‘Banking safety 2013’ (Bezpieczenstwo bankowe - 2013) for implementing IT solutions in respect of IT security and cryptographic data protection.
Inteligo is number one in the eyes of customers and experts
In the ranking ‘Bank closest to its customers’ (‘Bank najblizszy klientowi’) Inteligo proved to be the unquestioned leader, going up from the eighth place it held last year. Inteligo, the Internet branch of PKO Bank Polski SA, proved to be best in several areas. Customers and experts appreciated, i.a. the call centre, the new graphic layout of the transaction service and PLN 0 for servicing the account. The ranking was prepared for the third time by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna in cooperation with Expander, Indicator and IQS.
Bulawa (Mace) Award 2013
PKO Bank Polski SA was awarded by the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce with the prize Bulawa 2013.
The Polish-Ukrainian Business Prize was awarded for the first time to persons and companies especially distinguished in contributing to the development of Polish-Ukrainian economic cooperation. The Chapter comprising representatives of Polish and Ukrainian institutions grants the prize to companies with special achievements on the market, which is a synonym of economic success.
PKO Bank Polski SA is the sole shareholder and strategic partner of Ukrainian KREDOBANK SA. Its activity within the PKO Bank Polski SA Group is an example of the positive influence of Polish capital on Ukrainian financial institution. Technologies, know-how and financial funds brought to KREDOBANK SA significantly contribute to its development. It was repeatedly awarded for the quality of products, activities in support of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as transparency of activity.
Other
The Best of the Best for the Bank’s Annual Report
The Annual Report of PKO Bank Polski SA for 2012 has been awarded a special prize: ‘The Best of the Best’. The prize is awarded to enterprises and banks which won the main prize in ‘The Best Annual Report’ competition three times in the last years.
The award is proof of the highest user value of our Bank’s annual reports for shareholders and investors. The Chapter of the competition appreciated not only the quality of our financial statements but also the image-related value of the annual report. Completeness and consistency as well as clear and logical presentation of data (i. a. strategy and forecasts taking account of risks, application of corporate governance principles) were acknowledged.
The objective of The Best Annual Report competition is to create recognised standards for the preparation of IFRS/IAS annual reports and best practices in this scope. It is organised by Instytut Rachunkowosci i Podatków (Accounting and Tax Institute).
Lider Informatyki (IT Leader)
In the eleventh edition of the IT Leader in Financial Institutions 2012 (Lider Informatyki Instytucji Finansowych 2012) by Gazeta Bankowa PKO Bank Polski SA won the prize in the ‘Transaction Systems’ category for the ‘Mass Products and Services Handling’ (Obsluga masowych swiadczen) project. Moreover, the chapter of the competition rewarded the Bank in the ‘Electronic Banking and e-Finance’ (Bankowosc elektroniczna i e-finanse) category for implementing a new offer of School Savings Unions, which was tailored to the requirements of the market and the new generation which uses new technologies and the Internet on a daily basis.
The best implementations of IT systems in financial institutions were rewarded for the eleventh time during the Technological Gala. Forty-nine of last year’s IT solutions entered the competition. This was a record number of applications in the 11-year history of the competition.
Best Contact Centre
For the fourth time, PKO Bank Polski SA outclassed its rivals in a cyclical survey carried out by ARC Rynek i Opinia. In the final ranking including telephone and e-mail contacts, the Bank obtained nearly 98 points out of the maximum 100.
The pollsters evaluated the consultants’ work very highly: politeness, involvement and professionalism as well as knowledge of the products. The time of waiting for a connection is also the shortest – 2 seconds on average. Whereas the average for all the banks participating in the survey is 16 seconds. The availability of the hotline and the connection’s quality were also very well evaluated.
Szpalty Roku (Columns of the Year)
PKO Bank Polski SA’s projects were rewarded in this year’s edition of the ‘Columns of the Year’ competition. In the external magazine category, the Silver Column title was awarded to an economic guide for the youngest readers ‘Brawo Bank’. This is the second reward for this title (a supplement to ‘Banking Guide’ (Poradnik Bankowy) in this competition. The Brown Column title in the electronic medium category was awarded to the SKO website (www.sko.pkobp.pl) created in April 2012. ‘Our Bank’ (Nasz Bank) PKO Bank Polski SA employee's magazine was also rewarded.
The Columns of the Year is a competition for editors and authors of the corporate press organised since 2008 by Corporate Press Association (Stowarzyszenie Prasy Firmowej) as part of which professionals chaired by a renowned critic and columnist Tomasz Raczek reward the best corporate magazines.
Bank przyjazny samorzadom (Local Government-Friendly Bank)
During the 11th Local Government Capital and Finance Forum (Samorzadowe Forum Kapitalu i Finansów), PKO Bank Polski SA was awarded the Kazimierz Wielki Statuette. It was received, among other things, for the attractive offer based on knowledge of the market and openness to the needs of local authorities.
According to NBP data as of June 2013, the Bank’s share in the financing of local governments with loans exceeded 17%. The Bank is also a leader in issuing municipal bonds and its share in the market is close to 30%. The Bank handles the budgets of the following voivodeships: Mazowieckie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie, Lubelskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie, and a number of cities, including: Wroclaw, Szczecin, Zamosc, Grudziadz, Zielona Góra, Plock and Wloclawek.