Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) Aims for Growth in Poland

Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) has hired a former Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) executive, Pawel Graniewski, to run its Warsaw-based investment banking office just a few weeks after Poland’s government announced plans to raise billions in funds from privatizing its state-owned companies.

Pawel Graniewski joins Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) where he served as a senior adviser in the company’s Warsaw office.

The hire of Graniewski is the first in a number of appointment hoping to boost the New York-based bank’s capabilities in the country. Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) plans to hire at least another senior banker and an analyst in Warsaw.

James Bardrick, managing director and co-head of banking for Emea, said to the Wall Street Journal that “Poland has been a key market for Citigroup for almost 20 years. Now our main objective is to develop the best investment banking offer in the market and contribute to the Warsaw Stock Exchange expansion.

“On the one hand, we want to allow our corporate clients from other central and eastern Europe countries to raise capital through the Warsaw Stock Exchange; on the other hand, the presence of other strong companies from the region on the Warsaw Stock Exchange will bolster the capital market and help Warsaw become the leading financial center in central and eastern Europe.”

Last Month, Poland’s government announced plants to appoint an adviser to help raised approximately 6.2 billion EUR by selling its stakes in the energy, insurance, chemicals and telecommunications sectors.