History and Development
History and Development
Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. (PBZ) was founded in 1966 and is a legal successor to the Banka Narodne Republike Hrvatske established in 1962. In 1989, the Bank became a joint stock company.
After successful privatization in December 1999, Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) purchased 66.3% of the shares of Privredna banka Zagreb d.d., while the State Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Resolution retained 25%, plus two shares.
In 2000, BCI became part of Gruppo Intesa, the leading Italian banking group, and PBZ thus became a member of one of the largest European banking groups, which opened up new strategic opportunities for growth and development, introduction of new and innovative products and significant improvement of business processes and corporate governance. For example, as early as 2000, PBZ was first on the market to start with Internet banking implementation and it has managed to maintain its leading position in the market in the application of new technologies until today.
The text below contains a brief overview of the most important integration processes related to Privredna banka Zagreb d.d.
In 2000, Krapinsko-zagorska banka was merged into Privredna banka Zagreb d.d.
In 2002, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) acquired the minority stake (20.88%) in Privredna banka Zagreb d.d.
In 2004, Riadria banka was merged into Privredna banka Zagreb d.d., while Laguna banka was merged into Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. a year later, in 2005.
Furthermore, when we are talking about integration processes in January 2006, the card business of Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. and PBZ American Express were integrated into a new company - PBZ Card d.o.o. which is today the leading card institution in the country.
In 2007, by merging two large Italian banks, Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI, Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. becomes a member of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, one of the leading banking groups in Europe.
Međimurska banka d.d. was merged into Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. in 2012. In June 2015, by acquiring a stake from the EBRD, Intesa Sanpaolo increased its majority shareholding in Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. to 97.47 percent.
It’s important to note that PBZ is today a centre of excellence for many areas of banking operations in Intesa Sanpaolo Group and recently became a regional centre, by acquiring the subsidiary banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia as part of the ownership restructuring within Intesa Sanpaolo Group. Namely, in July 2015, Privredna banka Zagreb d.d. acquired the majority stake in Intesa Sanpaolo Bank d.d. Bosnia and Herzegovina, and two years later, in 2017, 51% of the share capital of Banka Intesa Sanpaolo d.d. in Slovenia (the former Banka Koper d.d.). In 2018, Vento banka d.d. was acquired and merged into Privredna banka Zagreb d.d.
At all stages of its history, PBZ has been one of the key holders of the largest investment and economic development programs in the Republic of Croatia. Today, PBZ is the leading credit institution in many segments of banking business and the implementation of new technologies on the Croatian market, and with a wide-ranging business network of 192 outlets and 775 ATMs it covers the entire territory of Croatia.With its business strategy, PBZ continues to focus on contemporary forms of banking and the continuous improvement and development of new and innovative products and services with the client at the centre of the activity.
Over the years, the Bank has been rewarded a number of prestigious international and domestic awards for the quality of its business activities.
