1

Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | December 2024

29 November 2024 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

Here is the banks’ new, unpleasant problem with CHF mortgages. Quiet settlements

Over the past two years, as the case law on CHF mortgages has clearly shifted in favour of customers, the number of lawsuits over repaid loans has increased. This is hardly surprising, as banks do not have a common settlement scheme for such customers. We disclose the scale of such cases and whether banks are offering settlements for ‘former CHF mortgage borrowers’.

Source: Business Insider

New bank in Poland

The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has granted the Industrial Bank of Korea permission to establish a new bank in Poland. According to the announcement, the financial institution will operate under the name IBK Bank Poland.

Source: TVN24

BIK: Banks and SKOKs granted more cash loans and fewer home loans and instalment loans in October ‘24

In October 2024, compared to October 2023, banks and Credit and Savings Unions (SKOKs) granted more cash loans (+28.8%) and issued more credit cards (+15.7%). On the other hand, they granted fewer home loans (27.5%) and instalment loans (-20.5%). In terms of value, banks and SKOKs increased their lending for three credit products: cash loans (+37.9%), credit card limits (+21.9%) and instalment loans (+5.3%). The value of home loans granted by banks and SKOKs fell (-23.8%), in line with their number – according to a press release from the Credit Information Bureau (BIK).

Source: Bank.pl

Banks should protect customers from fraud. UOKiK has issued recommendations

It is the responsibility of payment institutions, especially banks, to explain the modus operandi of fraudsters and to implement measures to monitor, communicate and respond to increasingly sophisticated methods of fraud and theft, according to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). His recommendations to payment service providers, which take into account customer complaints and the knowledge of financial sector experts, should help in the implementation of these obligations.

Source: Prawo.pl

Banks reached approximately 107,000 out-of-court settlements and 10,000 court settlements with CHF mortgage borrowers

By the end of September, banks reached about 107,000 out-of-court settlements with borrowers of loans denominated in Swiss francs, said Tadeusz Białek, President of the Polish Bank Association (ZBP). In addition, about 10,000 court settlements have been reached, with the number of such settlements being currently around 1,000 per month.

Source: Inwestycje.pl

The time for relief is over. The burden on banks will rise sharply

In 2023 and 2024, Polish banks paid a preferential contribution to the Bank Guarantee Fund (BFG) which is designed to protect customer deposits and increase the stability of the banking sector. In 2025, the BFG fee will increase significantly.

Source:Business Insider

ZBP President: a variant of WIRF instead of WIBOR – decision in December ‘24

After the second round of consultations with all stakeholders interested in the benchmark reform, it is now clear which version of the WIRF benchmark will replace WIBOR, but the choice will be announced in December ‘24, most likely before Christmas, according to dr Tadeusz Białek, President of the Polish Bank Association (ZBP).

Source: Bank.pl

Questions? Find out how we support banks and financial institutions.

See also

Banking today and tomorrow | An overview of the banking sector | November 2024

Latest Knowledge

Workplace harassment and discrimination: new regulations for employers

The Sejm has passed an amendment to the Labour Code concerning workplace harassment and discrimination. The changes introduce a broader definition of the concept itself, new forms of harassment, clearer definitions of what constitutes, for example, sexual harassment, and new rules governing the handling of such cases, including the reversal of the burden of proof, higher compensation awards, and the jurisdiction of district courts. The provisions will enter into force on 5 November 2026. We examine what will change and how much time remains to adapt company documents, policies, and the organisation as a whole.

ESG Roadmap. How to identify which regulations apply to your business and build a strategy

As we know, ESG in business is a roadmap made up of numerous obligations arising from different regulatory frameworks. That is why the right question is not “how do I meet all the requirements?” but rather “which of them apply to my business?”. This is a crucial distinction. We explain how to correctly diagnose your regulatory profile and build an effective ESG strategy – one that actually works and gives you a competitive edge.

Announcement of Income Tax Reform

On 19 August, during a press conference, the Prime Minister announced a package of tax changes planned for next year. According to the announcement, the reform is intended, on the one hand, to ease the burden on the middle class and, on the other, to shift a greater fiscal burden onto the wealthiest individuals and the largest companies. We take a look at the proposals included in the announced package and explain what they might mean for taxpayers.

Family foundations and the tax authorities: what draft bill UD447 proposes and why this is not the end of the troubles

Family foundations were intended to provide entrepreneurs with a stable framework for intergenerational wealth management. Yet not even four years have passed since the first such foundations were established, and the rules governing their taxation are set to be changed once again. This is because the scale of interest and the practical problems uncovered have overwhelmed the drafters of the legislation, as best illustrated by the figures – 927 applications for individual tax rulings and 77 opinions issued from the Head of the National Revenue Administration. This does not, however, mean that family foundations are being used on a massive scale for aggressive tax optimisation. A significant proportion of the queries concerned simply how to correctly apply the complex regulations.

Banking today and tomorrow | Financial sector overview | August 2026

Poland’s banking sector has reacted with concern to recent remarks by Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, who announced plans to put forward a proposal for a further increase in CIT levied on banks. The Minister’s reasoning, however, rests on a flawed conflation of the sector’s liquidity with its profitability, revealing a fundamental misunderstanding of how the banking sector operates and how its financial health is assessed. What is more, it feeds into a worrying trend of replacing substantive debate with simplistic, populist messaging which may be politically appealing but is not underpinned by either facts or economic analysis.

NIS2 and the National Cybersecurity System Act in transport: what you need to do before October 2026

The amended Act on the National Cybersecurity System (UKSC) has been in force since 3 April 2026. For transport sector undertakings, this means a specific compliance timeline, including an obligation to register with the National Cybersecurity System (KSC) registry by 3 October 2026. Failure to do so may result in substantial financial penalties, coupled with the risk of personal liability for senior management. Not every undertaking, however, automatically falls within the scope of the new regime. Read on to find out whether your organisation is affected and what you need to do before the deadline for preparation.

Family foundations: the government has done the maths and presented the bill

Three years. That’s how long we’ve been waiting for what the Council of Ministers had seen in the data from the outset – and has now disclosed in its review of the Family Foundation Act. The document not only diagnoses the problems, but also previews substantial changes to rules that founders and their advisers treated as settled and stable. And therein lies a problem that goes far beyond tax matters. If the rules of the game are changed while the game is being played, there can be neither planning stability nor trust in the law. It is no coincidence that one of the greatest concerns among entrepreneurs considering setting up a foundation is not the level of taxation, but the stability of the legal framework – which today is once again being called into question.

What the new swiss franc act means for banks

We now have a new Act on Special Measures for the Adjudication of Cases Concerning Loan Agreements Denominated in or Indexed to the Swiss Franc. The provisions come into force 14 days after publication. So now is a good time to look at what lies ahead and what banks should be doing today.