Lessons from Bank Privatization in Central Europe

In the three fast track, Central European transition countries, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, bank restructuring and privatization involved different approaches and met with a variety of outcomes. Hence, these experiences in otherwise similar transition economies provide important lessons for bank privatization in other transition countries and in developing economies. If an independent market-oriented banking sector is the overriding goal, three fundamental conclusions emerge. First, bank restructuring and privatization must be sequenced carefully to create the appropriate incentives for lending on a commercial basis only in the future. Second, privatization requires a credible transfer of proper corporate culture is most easily established by attracting a strategic investor, preferably a foreign financial institution.