“We have to wait and see what the general situation will be like after next year’s elections in Poland,” Manfred Knof, chairman of the board of directors of Commerzbank, the owner of mBank, said in an interview with “Die Welt” in December 2022. At the time, the German banker criticized the Polish government for the situation in the banking sector. One of the Internet users published on Twitter data from the Public Information Office of the Civic Platform, which shows that politicians from this group like to use loans from mBank.
““Po took out loans from mBank for PLN 45 million.”
This is Manfred Knof, Chairman of the Board of Directors of @commerzbank, owner of @mBankpl. In an interview for @welt, Manfred complained about the Polish government, saying that “we have to wait and see what the general situation will look like in Poland after the elections.” This year, PO took out loans from mBank in the amount of PLN 45 million
— wrote Emilia Kamińska on the X platform.
The interview he writes about appeared in December 2022. Interesting were not only the statements of the German banker, but also the journalist from ‘Die Welt’, who claimed that the Polish government was ‘nationalist’.
Manfred Knof said he was concerned about “extraordinary political interventions in Poland” involving banks and “charging them unilaterally.” He argued that Commerzbank, along with others “in a similar situation”, intervened in the case with the European Commission a few months ago.
We have to wait and see what the overall situation will look like in Poland after next year’s elections
– he said.
When asked whether his position stems from the fact that he does not want to damage relations with the “nationalist government in Warsaw” (sic!) due to Russian aggression against Ukraine, he replied that he “cannot estimate it”, but that he still looking for “an agreement with the Polish government.” The journalist from “Die Welt” then pointed out that the German government had 16 percent in Commerzbank. shares, and the banker replied that Berlin would decide for himself whether and when to sell these shares.
In the past, Knof has criticized the Polish government, among other things. for the introduction of credit holidays.
A PO politician comes to mBank
Two weeks ago, PO took out a working capital loan of PLN 25 million. Financial support at the end of the campaign was of course provided by mBank.
The Civic Platform borrows heavily from mBank. In total, the amount can reach PLN 45,000,000. Of which the last ‘working capital loan’ – the agreement of September 7, 2023 – amounts to PLN 25,000,000. The main shareholder (approximately 70%) of mBank is the German Commerzbank. Why do they need so much money? Is it total despair at the end of the campaign? Only 2 weeks until the 2023 elections. We’ll see. Source: BIP PO, contracts register
Source: wPolityce