The story
Postal Savings Bank (1919–1948)
On 7 February 1919, by decree of the Provisional Head of State Józef Piłsudski, the Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności (Postal Savings Bank) was established. Hubert Linde was appointed its first director on 28 December 1919. He was succeeded as presidents of PKO by Emil Schmidt and Henryk Gruber. The bank's head office was established in Warsaw at 31/33 Świętokrzyska Street, along with the first local branches in Kraków, Lwów, Łódź, Poznań and Katowice. A primary objective of the bank was to introduce the Polish złoty into circulation in place of the Polish mark. From 1920, the bank had legal personality as a state institution. Its employees were members of the Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności Employees' Association, which maintained branches at larger offices, including Warsaw and Łódź.
During the German occupation of Poland in World War II, the bank operated under German administration. Its operations were resumed in 1945.
Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności in the People's Republic of Poland
By the decree of the Council of Ministers of 25 October 1948 on banking reform, the existing Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności was dissolved and a new state-owned bank — Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności — was established in its place. Under that decree, on 19 December 1949 the Minister of the Treasury issued two regulations on the new bank: one on the commencement of its operations, and a second on the transfer of branches, assets and liabilities from Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności and the placing of the latter into liquidation. On 1 January 1950, Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności commenced operations and took over the assets and liabilities of the liquidated Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności.
In the late 1960s, Karol Śliwka designed the PKO logo, which remains in use. In 1974, PKO's product range was expanded to include a savings and current account for private individuals (commonly known as ROR).
Under the Banking Act of 12 June 1975, with effect from 1 July 1975, Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności was incorporated into the structures of the National Bank of Poland. On 1 November 1987, it became an independent bank again, changing its name to Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Państwowy. The separation from the National Bank of Poland and the establishment of the state bank took place pursuant to Articles 63 and 95 of the Banking Law of 26 February 1982 and the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 7 September 1987.
Third Republic of Poland
Pursuant to the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 18 January 2000, the bank was transformed on 12 April 2000 into a sole-shareholder company wholly owned by the State Treasury under its current name. On 10 November 2004, the bank made its debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
In 2019, they were announced the title sponsor for the Polish Ekstraklasa.
On 2 February 2024 the bank dismissed eight out of eleven members of the supervisory board. 5 days later, on 7 February 2024, the President of the Management Board of the bank Darius Szwed resigned, leaving the bank the following week. On 15 February 2024, Szymon Midera was appointed acting President of the Management Board. On 26 March 2024 he was appointed President of the Management Board, subject to approval by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), which was granted on 14 June 2024.
From Wikipedia’s article on PKO Bank Polski, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4