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A legislative overview of the banking sector | Banking: today and tomorrow | July 2023

4 July 2023 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

CHF loans are gone, but the banks are still scared. Another wave of claims could be on the way

CHF borrowers are challenging not only active but also repaid loan agreements in court. For the time being, the number of such cases is relatively small, but the CJEU judgment in favour of borrowers is likely to increase their number. The question is to what extent and at what cost to the banks.

Source: Business Insider

The UKNF comments on the CJEU judgment in case C-520/21

The CJEU ruling in case C-520/21, which essentially amounts to relieving consumers of the cost of providing capital by banks for many years, is unfavourable from the point of view of the Polish banking sector and the Polish economy as a whole, but also from the point of view of legal certainty, the public interest and elementary principles of social justice, as it grants preferential treatment in the form of “free credit” to a narrow group of borrowers. According to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority Office (UKNF), the CJEU ruling violates the principles of proportionality and balance between the values protected by Directive 93/13 and overriding values such as the stability and security of the financial system. It also goes beyond what is required by the principle of effectiveness applied with regard to Directive 93/13.

Source: UKNF

Appeal of the Entrepreneurship Council

Following the CJEU judgment of 15 June 2023, C-520/21, on foreign currency loans, the Entrepreneurship Council notes with concern the possible negative impact of the ruling on the entire economy and all taxpayers, as banks absorbing losses related to this judgment will not be able to finance the development of the Polish economy at the current level in the near future.

Source: Entrepreneurship Council

ZBP VP: banks’ CHF loan-related provisions could reach PLN 42 billion in 2023-25, equity gap up to PLN 51.5 billion

The Polish Bank Association (ZBP) estimates that the additional amount of CHF loan-related legal risk provisions, over and above the PLN 40 billion already set aside by banks, will reach PLN 42 billion in 2023-2025. According to bankers, the sector will remain profitable, but the increase in banks’ equity will not be sufficient to finance the needs of the economy. The cumulative capital shortfall in 2023-2025 will be between PLN 36.2 billion and PLN 51.5 billion, the ZBP said on Thursday (29.06.2023).

Source: Bank.pl

VeloBank goes under the hammer

On Friday, the Bank Guarantee Fund (BFG) started the process of selling VeloBank, which took over the ‘healthy’ part of the collapsed GNB. Nothing will, however, change for customers.

Source: Rzeczpospolita

We know when the ‘Safe Credit’ programme starts. Here are the banks that are participating in the programme

We are ready to launch the ‘Safe Credit’ programme on 3 July this year, with two major Polish banks so far and five more in the process of finalising an agreement with BGK, said Waldemar Buda, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, on Thursday. On 1 July this year, the Act on State Aid for Housing Savings will come into force, introducing, among other things, the ‘2% Safe Credit’ programme with state subsidies for instalments and a housing account with the possibility of obtaining a housing bonus from the state budget.

Source: Forsal.pl

First WIRON-based mortgage already on the market. The margin surprises

ING Bank Śląski was the first bank to remove variable-rate mortgages from its offer and the first to introduce them in a new form, offering WIRON-based mortgages from the 26th of June.

Source: Bankier.pl

Banks must accept an inconvenient truth. “We risk perpetuating inflation”

Inflation is slowly falling globally and in Poland, but it is far too early to declare success. The deputy head of the International Monetary Fund warned that central banks must accept an inconvenient truth, potentially having to shoulder a prolonged period of above-target inflation to forestall a financial crisis.

Source: Business Insider

Banks are not obligated to disclose who has accessed customer data

Consumers always have the right to request information from a bank about the processing of their data, even if they used to work at that bank themselves. However, it is one thing to have information about the processing and another to have information about the identity of the persons who have had access to personal data, the CJEU ruled.

Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

High profits for banks in the first five months of 2023. Latest figures

According to the National Bank of Poland (NBP), bank profits in the first five months of 2023 reached PLN 16.9 billion, up 31% yoy. In May alone, banks made a profit of PLN 3.97 billion, up 6.8% yoy.

Source: TVN24

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