Bank Zachodni WBK, the Polish unit of Allied Irish Banks, said provisions for risky loans may be less than 1.5 per cent of total assets at the end of 2009, down from an earlier estimate of 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent.

Zachodni may set aside less in provisions in the third quarter of this year than the average it booked in the first and second quarters, chief executive Mateusz Morawiecki said yesterday in Krynica, southern Poland.

Money set aside for risky loans may be lower than in the first six months, he added. – (Bloomberg)