Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | March 2025

4 March 2025 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

Supreme Court: Bank may exercise right of retention against CHF mortgage borrower

A seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court has issued a resolution stating that a bank loan agreement is a reciprocal contract within the meaning of the Civil Code, which means that the bank can exercise its right of retention. The decision was taken following a question from the Financial Ombudsman in the absence of a substantive answer from the CJEU to the questions referred for a preliminary ruling by the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court in October 2023. The resolution is likely to have an impact on many ongoing cases.

Source: Prawo.pl

New risks for banks. Loans may become more expensive and difficult to obtain

CHF mortgage loans, the sanction of free credit, attempts to undermine WIBOR-based mortgages, credit holidays – these are costly legal risks for banks, which can also have a negative impact on consumers. According to Tadeusz Białek, President of the Polish Bank Association, serious consideration should be given to whether banks should make long-term loans widely available to customers, since offers to pursue cases for their cancellation often appear immediately after signing the loan agreements. He adds that the increased legal risk could be reflected in the cost of loans.

Source: Business Insider

Is the Swiss franc mortgage bomb still ticking? A worrying report

Despite very good financial results, Polish banks face serious challenges. One of these is the risk associated with CHF mortgage loans, which remains an unresolved issue in the Polish market. The banking sector’s results will also be affected by risks related to WIBOR and the Free Credit Sanction.

Source: Forsal.pl

Bankers call for deregulation

The deregulation campaign recently announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk is intended to be one of the factors increasing the willingness of Polish entrepreneurs to take pro-development actions, reminded Agnieszka Wachnicka, Vice-President of the Polish Bank Association, during a press conference in February. She emphasised that the Polish Bank Association had prepared a number of deregulation proposals, the implementation of which would make life easier for both banks and their customers.

Source: Bank.pl

‘Manipulated’ narrative on the sanctioning of free credit. A warning from the ZBP

Obtaining a free consumer credit in court will not be automatic at all, and the CJEU’s ruling on this issue is not groundbreaking, says the Polish Bank Association (ZBP). (…) The ZBP also stated that at the end of December there were 14,759 cases concerning the sanction of free credit pending before the courts. To put things into perspective, the number of consumer loans is estimated at around 18 to 19 million.

Source: Rzeczpospolita

Poles took out 85 billion PLN worth of mortgage loans in 2024. What will 2025 bring?

Despite the high cost of mortgages, interest in them remains high. According to the AMRON-SARFiN report, more than 200,000 people took out mortgages in 2024.

Source: Business Insider

The cloud is growing like wildfire in Europe. Banks, IT and insurance are spending the most in this area

The IDC forecasts that spending on public cloud services in Europe will reach USD 221 billion in 2025 and increase to USD 373 billion by 2028, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate of 20%. In particular, the Platform as a Service (PaaS) segment will be the fastest growing area, driven by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence applications, the integration of cloud ecosystems, and the need for scalable platforms to support digital transformation.

Source: Brandsit.pl

Freedom is what counts. This is one potential conclusion of a Mastercard survey on Polish attitudes to payments

The survey showed that what our compatriots value in the development of payment services is the fact that it gives them a lot of freedom in choosing how to make payments in different life situations.

Source: Cashless.pl

How finance is evolving. Polish banks among the most innovative

The development of artificial intelligence, blockchain and technologies such as open banking are transforming financial services. How is the banking sector evolving and how do Polish financial institutions, which are among the most innovative in the world, fit into this process?

Polish banks are among the most modern in the world, as evidenced by their high rankings in global ratings. In the West in particular, they are known for their high level of digitalisation, their wide range of products and services, and the fact that many banks allow customers to open an account remotely, without having to visit a branch.

Source: Bankier.pl

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Latest Knowledge

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.

“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.

Contact us:

Tomasz Leśko

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

+48 22 326 3400

t.lesko@kochanski.pl