Luigi Lovaglio has been highly valued by investors as head of the bank and analysts have worried that his potential departure could hurt the lender's prospects.

"It would be great to be able to continue the programme of the bank's development," Lovaglio told a news conference through an interpreter.

He also said it will be a challenge for the bank to repeat its 2016 net profit of 2.28 billion zlotys (450 million pounds) in 2017, adding that on a comparable basis the profit will rise.

(Reporting by Marcin Goettig)