The Polish banking business of Paris-listedBNP Paribas is
to roll out investment advisory services that include wealth and tax planning.

The new offer includes services related to “protecting,
optimising and enhancing capital. It combines the knowledge of Polish experts,”
according to a statement from BNP Paribas Bank Polska. These services, for
example, come from private banking and tax advisors, brokers and investment
professionals, as well as expertise from the BNP Paribas group as a whole.

The service comes at a time when firms that are being buffeted by concerns about the eurozone are still making money in central and Eastern Europe. UniCredit, as described by this publication recently, has a significant operation in Poland, for example, and says the market is still ripe for development. (To view that article, click here). 

The service has been launched with three groups in mind, the
bank said. These groups are self-directed investors seeking to trade in stocks,
bonds and units of investment funds; secondly, people whose capital is overseen
by asset management specialists, and thirdly, people who “actively participate
in their asset management, make independent investment decisions taking
advantage of recommendations given by licensed investment advisors”.

The first client type will be served by BNP Paribas Bank
Polska’s newly opened brokerage office, it said. For the second grouping, the
bank offers a service for those willing to invest at least PLN200,000 (around $57,000)
in domestic funds portfolios, at least PLN500,000 in foreign funds portfolios,
portfolio of shares or stocks, and at least PLN1 million in an individual
portfolio. The third group is also served by the new brokerage office.

"So far we have observed only some tentative attempts
to create investment advisory offers on the market. BNP Paribas Bank Polska is
the first bank to put in a comprehensive and well-prepared offer. We drew on
experience of mature markets such as France,
Italy or Switzerland,"
Daniel Ścigała, head of the private banking department at BNP Paribas Bank
Polska, said.