Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | March 2024

7 March 2024 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

Can banks meet the credit needs of the Polish economy?

The Polish banking sector is too small and too taxed to be able to finance the needs of the economy on an adequate scale. (…) “We are responsible for 80% of the financing of the so-called real sphere, i.e. all entities that are not included in the financial sector. The decline in lending is an obvious problem for the Polish economy. It is also an illustration of our capabilities,” said Włodzimierz Kiciński.

Source: Bank.pl

From WIBOR to WIRON. When and what will change for borrowers?

When discussing the role of the WIBOR benchmark in the Polish financial system, experts and regulators emphasise its key function and robust control procedures. As the basis for setting lending rates, it is monitored by the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), which ensures transparency and market stability. The planned changeover to WIRON is aimed at meeting global standards and strengthening customer confidence.

Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

WIBOR manipulation by banks. How much truth is there? [OPINION]

Recently there have been reports in the media that the WIBOR benchmark is being manipulated by banks. The first question to answer is what is WIBOR and how does it work, which can tell us a great deal about the possibilities of manipulating it.

Source: Business Insider

Ministry of Finance: We are completing work on the credit holiday, we will soon publish the draft

The Ministry of Finance assures: “Our intention is to provide solutions that protect borrowers, in a situation where interest rates remain high. The Ministry of Finance has been asked to prepare and present additional information and scenarios, following questions regarding the use of certain solutions and their impact on the economy.”

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza

Polish Bank Association (ZBP): Banks sold 162,000 mortgages in 2023

“Despite the fact that the banking sector granted a record number of mortgage loans, the numerical result achieved remains at the same level as in 2004, i.e. 162,000. However, the dynamics and value of the market is demonstrated by the value of the loans – in 2023 this amounted to PLN 62.8 billion, more than four times higher than in 2004, when it was PLN 15.2 billion,” says the ZBP report.

Source: Puls Biznesu

Post-Safe Mortgage landscape. Five key charts on the mortgage market

The mortgage market has experienced a brief boom fuelled by subsidies. But the boost in sales is not the only effect of the ‘Safe 2% Mortgage’. We present the five most interesting findings from last year’s summary.

Source: Bankier.pl

Cyber criminals take ‘click loans’ instead of customers

There has been an exponential increase in the number of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman about loans that were not knowingly taken out by customers, but by cyber criminals using social engineering and hacking techniques. In such situations, the onus is on the bank to prove that the transaction was authorised.

‘Click loans’ are fast loans offered by banks that customers can obtain from a bank transaction website without contacting a bank employee. The loans are granted automatically and their limits are set by the banks based on their knowledge of their own customers’ financial situation. These loans are a very convenient solution for consumers, but the problem arises when unauthorised persons gain access to the account.

Green light for the European wallet. Legislation to facilitate use of digital services in the EU

The EU wallet is designed to make it easier to authenticate online when using public and private services. The European Parliament has given the green light to a project to create an EU digital identity wallet. This is a tool that may make it easier for EU citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online, giving them remote access to public and private services and allowing them to sign documents online. The regulation adopted yesterday still needs to be approved by the Council of the European Union before it can enter into force.

Source: Cashless.pl

Licence or blockade – crypto service providers face a new phase

The first version of the draft law on cryptocurrencies has seen the light of day. The Financial Supervision Authority will supervise the market in Poland. Among other things, the law provides for the possibility of blocking, at the level of internet providers, access to the interfaces of entities operating without the necessary licence.

Source: Bankier.pl

Global public debt in 2024 will be more than 50% higher than before the pandemic

Experts at S&P Global Ratings forecast that the 137 countries covered will raise the equivalent of USD 11.5 trillion in long-term debt on financial markets in 2024. This is an increase of 8% from 2023 and more than 50% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Source: Bank.pl

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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.

Don’t miss the deadline for fulfilling your transfer pricing obligations

Transfer pricing has for many years been one of the main areas of focus for tax authorities. In practice, this means that transactions between related parties are subject to heightened scrutiny, and the associated documentation obligations are among those most frequently audited.

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.