, photographed in 2009
Allied Irish Banks (AIB) had acquired 16.2% of shares in
Bank WBK from the Polish State Treasury in March 1995. In the following years, the group acquired more WBK shares and separately a majority stake (80 percent) in
Bank Zachodni in 1999. On , pursuant to the resolution of the
Polish Commission for Banking Supervision dated 7 March, Bank Zachodni-WBK was established. On 23 June 2001, the bank's shares were floated on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). On 30 March 2010, AIB announced the intention to sell its stake in Bank Zachodni WBK, and on 10 September these intentions were confirmed by announcing the Santander Group as the buyer, which was to acquire 70.36% of shares worth EUR 3,1bn from AIB. On 30 March 2011, in a tender offer, Santander acquired 69,912 m company shares taking up 95.67% of its stake. In 2012, the Santander Group reached an agreement with
KBC Group on the acquisition of , then merged Kredyt Bank into BZ-WBK. Bank Zachodni WBK S.A. became the legal successor of Kredyt Bank in early 2013. The name Kredyt Bank was kept as trademark for some products. On 7 September 2018, BZ-WBK was officially rebranded as Santander Bank Polska, and its headquarters were transferred to Warsaw. In the last quarter of 2018, the Polish retail operations of
Deutsche Bank were absorbed by Santander Bank Polska. The bank had 369 branches in Poland by 2023, complemented by franchisee partner outlets managed by individuals who cooperated based on agency agreements and offered select products and services; as of 2023 there were 421 such partners. In June 2025, Santander announced the sale of 49% of the bank to the Vienna-based
Erste Group. The transaction was completed in early 2026, followed by rebranding as
Erste Bank Polska. ==Marketing==