Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | March 2026

3 March 2026 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

WIBOR is unchallengeable. The CJEU has confirmed the legality of the index

On 12 February 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a judgment concerning the use of the WIBOR index in loan agreements. The CJEU judges confirmed that, in consumer cases, courts cannot examine the correctness of the WIBOR calculation. The banks had correctly informed their clients about the reference rate in accordance with national and EU law.

Source: Związek Banków Polskich

The end of the WIBOR era in loans. The KNF sets strict deadlines for banks

According to KNF Deputy Chairman Marcin Mikołajczyk, the reform of reference rates entered a crucial stage in 2026, with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) expecting banks to move away from the WIBOR rate. He expressed hope that the sector would play an active role in the market for long-term debt instruments. (…) He said that the POLSTR compound rate is expected to be introduced to a range of banking products, including mortgage loans, by the second quarter of 2026 at the latest. He also said that the TN and 2W tenors would no longer be developed, and that the end dates had been set for the ON tenor (October 2026) and the 1Y tenor (December 2026).

Source: Bankier.pl

Banking Forum 2026: “The Polish judicial system has abdicated”

The biggest problem for the banking sector is not the protection of consumers, whether more or less radical, but legislation that creates the temptation to abuse. This legislation leads to the significant legal risks currently faced by the Polish banking sector. At the same time, Polish courts are unable to cope with the law. During the Banking Forum 2026, Cezary Stypułkowski, President of Bank Pekao, said that “the Polish judicial system has abdicated”.

Source:Bank.pl

Banks facing growing global uncertainty

Representatives of the Polish financial security network said at the Banking Forum that the Polish sector will face several challenges in the long term – over the next several or a dozen years – including multicrises, changes in the global geopolitical and financial order, uncertainty which is changing risk management paradigms, the consolidation of the European banking union (of which Polish banks are not a part), and the operationalisation of resolution procedures.

Source: Bank.pl

ECB warns banks about AI risks

The European Central Bank (ECB) is paying closer attention to the risks posed to the banking sector by the rapid development of artificial intelligence. The regulator is primarily focusing on banks’ hidden credit exposures and the risk of disruption to the entire financial system.

Source: Bank.pl

European Central Bank fines Crédit Agricole millions of euros for climate negligence

The European Central Bank has fined Crédit Agricole over EUR 7.5 million for failing to accurately identify climate and environmental risks, as required by its obligations. This marks a shift in banking supervision in the eurozone, moving from recommendations to real sanctions.

Source: Gazeta Prawna

Amazing mortgage quality. Poles repay their debts like clockwork

Another record has been broken. For every PLN 100,000 of mortgage debt, repayment problems concern… PLN 1,160. This is almost half the figure from the beginning of the decade. However, one type of loan has a ratio closer to that of non-bank loans.

Source: Bankier.pl

An opportunity arises in the shadow of war. Poland is considering buying a bank in Ukraine

The Polish government is considering entering the Ukrainian banking market at a time that many experts regard as the best in decades. Kyiv is preparing to privatise key financial institutions, which Warsaw sees as an opportunity to strengthen its position strategically in the region and gain access to a market that could experience explosive growth after the war. – The market will be huge and develop rapidly as Ukraine strives to join the European Union. It would be difficult to find a better moment, we hear unofficially.

Source: Business Insider

The reconstruction of Ukraine will cost a fortune. The latest estimates from the World Bank

According to the latest estimates, the cost of rebuilding Ukraine following the destruction caused by Russian aggression will be USD 588 billion (approximately EUR 500 billion) over the next decade. This is an increase on previous forecasts, which suggested USD 524 billion. The report, published on Monday, considers the damage incurred from the beginning of the large-scale war on 24 February 2022 until the end of 2025.

Source: Business Insider

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Workplace harassment and discrimination: new regulations for employers

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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.