OREANDA-NEWS. October 28, 2014. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s work in developing capital markets in central and eastern Europe was recognised at the Warsaw Capital Market Summit 2014 Awards in the Polish capital.

The Bridge Award 2014 honoured the EBRD’s long-standing commitment to enhancing the role of Polish and central and eastern European investors in the global market.

The award was presented at the Warsaw Capital Market Summit 2014, an international conference dedicated to capital markets in Poland and central and eastern Europe organised by the Ministry of Treasury of the Republic of Poland, the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Central Securities Depository of Poland (KDPW).

The event was attended by the Minister of Treasury of Poland, Wlodzimierz Karpinski and others. Representatives of the EBRD in attendance were Lucyna Stanczak-Wuczynska, EBRD Director Financial Institutions, EU Banks and Grzegorz Zielinski, EBRD Director, Poland.  

“It is an honour for the EBRD to receive such recognition. This award signifies our commitment to supporting the expansion and diversification of capital markets. The banking sector in Poland and beyond has developed tremendously over the years and serves as a shining example of the EBRD’s contribution and commitment to the wider region”, said Lucyna Stanczak-Wuczynska, EBRD Director Financial Institutions, EU Banks, on receiving the award.

Grzegorz Zielinski, EBRD Director, Poland, added “We are extremely pleased to accept this award, which we see not only as a recognition of EBRD’s contribution to date, but also as an expectation to continue EBRD’s support for development of local capital markets in Poland and the region”.

The EBRD is playing a key role in developing Polish capital markets and financial institutions with investments in loan and equity, such as issuance of the Zl 1 billion global bond or the first equity investment in an asset management company Polish Altus TFI. Furthermore, the EBRD has launched a EUR250 million framework to support the debt capital market, a major step in building a critical mass of capital market instruments to have a broader market development impact.

Since the beginning of its operations in Poland in 1991, the EBRD has invested almost EUR 7 billion in more than 330 projects in the country. In addition to its wide product range for banks and companies, in recent years the Bank has had a strong portfolio of investments in the Polish financial sector amounting to EUR 708 million.