BGK has opened a representative office in Brussels

11 September 2018

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego has opened its first representative office abroad in Brussels. It will represent the bank in contacts with EU and financial institutions, monitor legislative processes and co-operate with other development banks and associations present in Brussels. The representative office will also support international expansion of Polish companies within the Benelux countries.

BGK, a state development bank, is one of the key institutions implementing the Strategy for Responsible Development. BGK co-finances and supports the development processes in Poland, manages European programmes and distributes EU funds. The launch of a representative office in Brussels will also enable it to monitor the legislative processes connected precisely with planned EU financial perspectives on an ongoing basis, as well as actively co-operate with international financial institutions, foreign development banks and representatives of European institutions.

BGK will have the possibility to promote its own initiatives on the international front and build a good business climate for Poland. “The choice of Brussels is no coincidence: it is here that all critical decisions about EU finances are made and other development banks have their representative offices. Our representative office is located in the same building as offices of e.g. the German development bank KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), the French banks Caisse des Dépôts Group (CDC) and Bpifrance, or the Italian Cassa depositi e prestiti (CDP). It is also where the association of development banks, European Long Term Investors (ELTI), which our bank is a member of, has its office. Owing to that, we will be able to co-operate, agree on common positions on key issues and exchange our experiences in the area of supporting business on an ongoing basis” - says Beata Daszyńska‑Muzyczka, President of the Management Board of BGK.

The role of the employees at the representative office of BGK in Brussels will also consist in active participation in meetings with representatives of EU institutions, the European Investment Bank or the European Investment Fund. Furthermore, they will represent the bank during conferences, workshops and activities of working groups.

“One of the key tasks of BGK is supporting export and foreign expansion of Polish companies. Today, together we are already present in 60 countries across 6 continents. The permanent presence of BGK in Brussels translates into even more possibilities to support business: develop relations with Polish companies operating on the Belgian market, monitor legal changes which may affect business, early identification of opportunities and threats” - adds Beata Daszyńska‑Muzyczka.

The capital of Belgium is the first city where BGK has opened its representative office abroad. In the near future, BGK is planning to open other representative offices, for instance in Frankfurt or London. It is also considering Paris and Singapore.

BGK is a state development bank which initiates and implements projects promoting economic growth of Poland - in cooperation with other development institutions such as: PFR (Polish Development Fund), KUKE (Export Credit Insurance Corporation Joint Stock Company), PAIH, PARP (The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development) and ARP (Industrial Development Agency). BGK develops guarantee and sureties schemes which contribute to the promotion of entrepreneurship. One of the important tasks of BGK is also to support the activities of Polish companies abroad. BGK manages European programmes and distributes EU funds at the national and regional level. BGK is involved in programmes aiming at improvement of access to housing on the residential market.

Anna Czyż

Spokesperson at Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego