Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | July 2026

6 July 2026 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

The end of WIBOR draws near: banks will be required to put new offers to their customers

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.

Source: Bankier.pl

Borrowers to receive proposals to move away from WIBOR

The Ministry of Finance is giving banks nine months to offer borrowers a switch from WIBOR to either a new benchmark rate or a fixed rate. The move follows the recent decision to phase out the benchmark currently used to calculate loan interest rates.

Source: Rzeczpospolita

The PSR will not relieve customers of the need to think for themselves

The PSR places considerable emphasis on implementing measures to combat fraudulent transactions, and this is to be welcomed. The Regulation also stresses the importance of consumer education, which means that, for once, it does not absolve customers of responsibility or the need to exercise their own judgement, notes Katarzyna Urbańska, Head of the Legal and Legislative Team at the Polish Bank Association. Interview by Sławomir Dolecki.

Source: Bank.pl

Record mortgage lending in Poland. Credit growth accelerates as credit cards lose ground

Rising borrowing capacity, stabilising property prices and refinancing activity have pushed mortgage sales in Poland close to record levels. Instalment and cash loan volumes also increased, whilst the number of credit cards issued declined. According to a report published on Tuesday by the Credit Information Bureau, in May 2026, banks and credit and savings unions (SKOKs) extended 27,600 loans, which is 46.9% more than a year earlier. On a month-on-month basis, this represents a 5.3% decrease. In value terms, mortgage sales grew by nearly 59% year-on-year, reaching PLN 13.129 billion. Month-on-month, the figure also fell by 4.2%, but April had been the strongest month on record in this regard.

Source: Business Insider

NetB@nk Report: 27.7 million active mobile banking users

According to the latest NetB@nk report, prepared by the Polish Bank Association, the number of active mobile banking app users rose to 27.7 million in Q1 2026. This represents an increase of 2.2% compared to the previous quarter and 9.0% compared to a year earlier. Furthermore, over 21 million customers used mobile apps as their sole banking channel. By contrast, the number of active online banking users fell to 20.8 million. The figures point to a clear shift in everyday banking activity towards the mobile channel.

Source: Polish Bank Association

Your loan is assessed by an algorithm. Banks reveal how the new system works

Banks now routinely use artificial intelligence in their lending processes. And this is not necessarily a cause for concern, as both sides stand to benefit. Even so, questions about the risks these technologies pose to customers cannot be ignored. The scale of AI adoption across Polish banks is a natural consequence of years of digitalisation and automation, an area in which the Polish banking sector ranks among European leaders. Increasingly, AI is also finding its way into the most critical processes, including those related to credit decisions and customer creditworthiness assessment systems.

Source: Rzeczpospolita

Introduction to greenwashing risk identification and mitigation in the banking sector. Second edition

The second edition of the publication Introduction to greenwashing risk identification and mitigation in the banking sector responds to the growing importance of the credibility of environmental claims and the transparency of actions taken in the field of sustainable development. In recent years, combating greenwashing has become one of the key challenges facing financial market participants, regulators and supervisory authorities, and its significance is growing alongside the development of ESG regulations and rising stakeholder expectations.

Source: Polish Bank Association

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Latest Knowledge

“Withdraw from contract here” – what next for the new button in online shops, on trading platforms and in mobile apps?

From 19 June, national legislation was to require businesses in the European Union entering into distance contracts with consumers via an online interface to provide consumers with the option to withdraw from the contract via a dedicated function/button. However, due to Poland’s delay in transposing Directive 2023/2673, which requires the use of such a button, this obligation has been postponed in our country. We look at what remote contract withdrawal entails and which transactions the new feature will apply to.

Municipal master plans – new deadline, same old challenges

On 11 June 2026, the President signed into law a bill extending the deadline for municipalities to adopt their master plans (plany ogólne). The key deadline for adopting master plans was moved from 30 June to 31 August 2026. We examine the reasons behind this change and consider what the absence of a master plan might mean for potential investors and their future projects.

Record fines and the upcoming 21st sanctions package – what should businesses expect?

The past year has brought a series of enforcement actions that clearly signal a tightening approach by the Polish customs and revenue authorities towards breaches of the sanctions regime. Importantly, businesses should already be preparing for further changes, as the European Union has announced its 21st sanctions package and updated the list of designated persons and entities. We examine the key developments and offer guidance on how to minimise the risk of non-compliance.

A sea change in the rules governing board members’ liability for a company’s tax arrears

The bill amending the General Tax Code (No. UC138) fundamentally overhauls the rules governing the tax liability of third parties for capital companies’ tax arrears. It comes in response to recent CJEU judgments, the Ombudsman’s February statement and the post-audit report of the Supreme Chamber of Audit (NIK) of December 2025. We examine what’s changing, who will be affected by the new rules and what steps are worth taking right now.

Partner in name, but only if male: the linguistic trap in Polish corporate law

One of the structures available under Polish law is the ‘spółka partnerska’ (professional partnership), modelled on the Anglo-Saxon Limited Liability Partnership. As defined in the Polish Commercial Companies Code, this is a vehicle for individuals practising liberal professions, such as doctors, architects and accountants. And yet, the provisions governing professional partnerships make no mention of their applicability to women. We therefore examine whether there is no room for female partners, feminine-gendered forms, or simply linguistic empathy.

Can you sue over words aimed at an entire community?

A damaging public statement does not necessarily refer to a specific individual. Sometimes, the author attributes negative characteristics to a whole group of people, portrays them as a threat or uses language that could be seen as demeaning. Statements of this kind frequently concern LGBTQ+ people. This raises the question: can a member of the targeted community bring a lawsuit seeking compensation or an apology, even if they were not named directly? We decided to look into this.

The 2026 CHF Mortgage Loans Act: The Direction of Changes and Their Implications for the Parties to Disputes

The bill of 29 May 2026 concerning Swiss franc mortgage loans could significantly change the way disputes between borrowers and banks are handled. Although at this stage it remains merely a legislative proposal, it is already attracting considerable attention due to the scale of its potential impact and the direction of the proposed solutions.

Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | June 2026

According to a statement published by GPW Benchmark, the reference rate administrator, and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), which oversees the administrator, 31 December 2036 will be the last day on which the WIBID and WIBOR rates will be provided for all key fixing periods: 1 month (1M), 3 months (3M) and 6 months (6M).

How to correctly calculate length of service from 1 May 2026

New rules for calculating length of service have applied to private sector employers since the beginning of May 2026. With companies continuing to express concerns about the new framework, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has addressed the most common questions. We look at the issues that are (still) troubling employers and how we can help.

Tax settlement agreement: A new tool in the General Tax Code

A draft bill amending the General Tax Code (No. UDER110) has been submitted for consideration by the Council of Ministers. The bill introduces the tax settlement agreement, a new form of amicable dispute resolution between taxpayers and the tax authority. The draft is open for inter-ministerial review and public consultation until 19 June, with the proposed date of entry into force being 1 January 2028. Below, we examine who may apply for a settlement agreement, when, and on what terms, and how the process may work in practice.

Contact us:

Tomasz Leśko

Attorney-at-law / Partner / Disputes of Financial Institutions

+48 22 326 3400

t.lesko@kochanski.pl