Www En

Banking sector overview | Banking today and tomorrow | May 2026

5 May 2026 | Banking today and tomorrow, Knowledge, News

CJEU ruling on Swiss franc mortgage loans. Banks issue firm statement

“The end of the dream of free housing” – this is how the Polish Bank Association (Związek Banków Polskich) has characterised Thursday’s judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union in cases concerning whether the claims of financial institutions against CHF mortgage borrowers have become time-barred.

Source: Business Insider

CJEU: Despite the invalidation of the amendment on the basis of which a loan was converted into a different currency, the original agreement remains in force

The invalidity of the amendment does not lead to the automatic invalidation of the original agreement. The original agreement contains all the elements necessary for its performance. The judgment provides an interpretation of EU law, and rulings in individual cases are a matter for the national courts.

Source: Bank.pl

Loans, deposits and outdated technology. Banks battle market debt

The modernisation of core banking systems – i.e., the banks’ centralised IT platforms – presents numerous challenges, ranging from deciding whether to upgrade or replace them entirely, to ensuring security and operational continuity. However, this process is necessary, as experts emphasise that these systems are already operating at the limits of their capacity. They also need to be adapted to accommodate new technologies.

Source: Bankier.pl

Poland will not experience a housing bubble – we are not wealthy enough

“The angels have died out, only the devils remain.” Is this not an apt summary of the causes of economic and financial crises? There are two main types: a crisis of scarcity (shortage, lack) and a crisis of abundance. The consequences of both are devastating, though those of a scarcity crisis are worse. In Poland, no such threats are visible in the residential property market. Our reality is one of housing shortages in the largest cities, coupled with an oversupply of properties in areas where jobs are disappearing.

Source: Obserwator Finansowy

Development banks from Poland, Croatia, Romania, Lithuania and Slovenia sign letter of intent on new fund of funds managed by the EIF

Development institutions from Central and Eastern Europe signed a letter of intent in Dubrovnik concerning the establishment of a new fund of funds to be managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), as announced in a press release by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (the Polish state development bank), one of the signatories to the letter. The initiative aims to mobilise at least EUR 2 billion in investments for energy, transport, digital and social infrastructure projects.

Source: Bank.pl

ZBP President calculates the CIT cost for banks

The banking sector paid 40% more in corporate income tax (CIT) in the first two months of this year, the President of the Polish Bank Association (ZBP), Tadeusz Białek, informed the Polish Press Agency. He added that due to the higher CIT burden, the banks’ financial result fell by 25% after January and February this year.

Source: Money.pl

infoDOK Report, Q1 2026: Marked increase in the number of invalidated ID documents in the first quarter

In the first quarter of 2026, 112,500 lost or stolen identity documents were added to the Lost or Stolen Documents System [System DOKUMENTY ZASTRZEŻONE] database – significantly more than in previous quarters. This increase is primarily due to the introduction of the option to report a document as lost or stolen directly via the mObywatel application, a development that has considerably simplified and expedited the entire process. The database now contains a total of 2,857,172 documents. Over the past 12 months, 201,400 documents have been invalidated.

Source: Polish Bank Association

Banks see the end of stagnation. Optimism in the financial sector rises sharply

The banking sentiment index rose in April compared to March by 9.8 points, reaching 29.7 points. In April, expectations regarding future customer activity improved, as reported by the Polish Bank Association and Minds & Roses.

Source:  Bankier.pl

ZBP submits its proposals in response to the European Commission’s consultation on the competitiveness of the EU banking sector

The Polish Bank Association submitted its proposals to the European Commission as part of the consultation on the competitiveness of the European Union banking sector. Comments were submitted in both the general consultation, which closed on 10 March, and in the targeted consultation, which closed on 19 April 2026. These activities form part of the ZBP’s ongoing engagement in the European legislative process and its representation of the Polish financial sector’s interests. The proposals aim to create regulatory conditions that will enable banks to support economic growth, investment and the transformation of the European economy more effectively.

Source: Bank.pl

Digital money accelerates. Stablecoins could reshape banking

Stablecoins are no longer exclusively a tool of the cryptocurrency market and are emerging as a key element of the global financial infrastructure. According to a Bain & Company report, their supply could increase as much as twelvefold by 2030, growing from the current ~USD 230 billion to as much as USD 2.7 trillion. This places urgent pressure on banks to define their role in a rapidly changing cash flow ecosystem.

Source: ManagerPlus

Questions? Find out how we support banks and financial institutions.

See also

Banking today and tomorrow | An overview of the banking sector | April 2026

 

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.