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Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | July 2024

4 July 2024 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

Challenging WIBOR could ruin our economy

WIBOR has a strong legal basis and is set in a transparent manner, and undermining it risks destabilising the country and losing Poland’s credibility in the financial markets. Fortunately, in addition to the banks, key public institutions are aware of this and are unanimously defending WIBOR.

Source: Bank.pl

New requirements for banks. Implications for customers

Banks will have to build up a so-called countercyclical buffer by retaining more capital. Customers are unlikely to be affected by these requirements, but dividends could fall.

At its last meeting, the Financial Stability Committee (KSF) presented its recommendations on the amount of the so-called countercyclical buffer. It is to be 1% after one year from the entry into force of the relevant ordinance and 2% after two years. The ordinance is to be issued by the Minister of Finance, and his representative at the KSF meeting accepted this recommendation and stated that legislative action would be taken. All indications are that the new prudential requirements will come into force later this year.

Source: Rzeczpospolita

ZBP: There are almost 16 million mobile-only customers. This is more than 2 million more than in Q1 2023

The Polish Bank Association (ZBP) has published the Netbank report for Q1 2024. The document contains information about the popularity of online and mobile banking in our country. Among other things, it shows that at the end of March there were more than 43.4 million valid agreements allowing individual customers to access internet banking in Poland. This represents an increase of 1% compared to the previous quarter. At that time, there were more than 43 million such agreements.

Source: Cashless.pl

ECF 2024 recommendations on banking risks, cybersecurity, regulation and democracy

The European Financial Congress presented the key recommendations of the CEOs of the largest Polish banks.

Source: Bank.pl

NBP report on the stability of the financial system, June 2024

The financial system is stable and the banking sector – its key component – remains resilient to shocks, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) said in its latest report on financial sector stability.

Source:Bank.pl

The 6 most important changes for the payment services industry and Open Finance – PSD3/PSR + FIDA package

On 28 June 2023, the European Commission unveiled a new legislative package that aims to revolutionise the payment services sector in the European Union. The proposals include the third version of the Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the accompanying Payment Services Regulation (PSR). The new legislation is designed not only to unify and simplify payment transactions, but also to significantly increase their security. The introduction of these regulations, scheduled for 2026, is expected to address new challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving financial sector.

Source: Puls Biznesu

Map of Polish Fintech

The cashless.pl portal has once again published a map of Polish fintech. Kochański & Partners was included in the consulting and institutions category.

Source: Cashless.pl

Banks getting bolder with generative AI

The role of generative AI in business is growing: 43% of companies worldwide, including Poland, are already investing in the technology, with a further 30% planning to do so in the coming year, according to EY’s Reimagining Industry Futures Study 2024 report. Finance is one of the industries which see the most potential for GenAI. Banks are keen to invest in the technology, hoping to increase sales, streamline processes and better personalise products and services, among other benefits. On the other hand, GenAI also poses a number of challenges, such as those related to confidentiality and data integrity.

Source: Bankier.pl

“Green Finance in Poland 2024” report

The report was produced in cooperation with the Institute for Responsible Finance, the European Financial Congress and the Know-How Hub. The partners of the report are the Polish Economic Institute and the Polish Bank Association.

Source: Polish Bank Association

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

Latest Knowledge

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.

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.

New draft Pay Transparency Act – what has changed since December 2025?

A second version of the draft act on strengthening the application of the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women has now been published. It refines procedures and deadlines and introduces a new supervisory body. We have already discussed the changes affecting the recruitment stage and the three pillars of the forthcoming pay transparency framework, noting that Poland will miss the EU transposition deadline of 7 June 2026. Now, we take a closer look at the further changes, new developments and risks that have emerged in the latest, April version of the draft.

Payment Services Regulation (PSR) – between consumer protection and due diligence

The draft Payment Services Regulation (PSR) is one of the most significant elements of the reform of the EU legal framework for payment services. Its principal aim is to enhance the security of cashless transactions and to reduce the scale of financial fraud, in particular that arising from the growth of digital channels. At the same time, the new rules are intended to introduce a liability model that will not result in risk being transferred entirely to financial institutions, whilst retaining an important role for independent due diligence on the part of the user.

Energy deregulation – key changes for businesses and energy consumers

The President has now signed the Energy Deregulation Act (UDER92). The new provisions cover both the relationships between energy undertakings and consumers, and matters relating to investment, district heating, and the administrative obligations of energy market participants. The Act introduces changes in the areas of billing, communication with consumers, grid connection, and the operations of undertakings in the energy and district heating sectors. We set out the key points to note.

Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | July 2026

Under the draft legislation, banks will be required to offer existing borrowers a switch from WIBOR-based to POLSTR-based interest rates, a mechanism intended to speed up the voluntary transition of financial instruments to the new benchmark. The banking sector has responded positively to the proposal, according to Tadeusz Białek, President of the Polish Bank Association.