Radosław Radowski is taking the helm of the Banking Practice
Today, the banking sector does not need more ivory-tower lawyers. What it needs are business partners who understand the balance sheet, internal banking and decision-making processes, and who can translate the regulatory requirements of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) and the EBA into their language. In other words: lawyers whose inside-out knowledge of how banks operate enables them to meet their business needs head on. Radosław Radowski is just such a person, and he’s joining us as Partner and Head of the Banking Practice within the Banking & Finance Practice Group.
Radosław is a manager who spent close to 30 years heading legal at banks such as Bank Millennium, Polbank, Allianz Bank, Bank BPH and Bank BPS, and knows the industry from the inside – its legal risk and compliance risk management processes, the operational realities of management boards and other decision-making bodies, and the mechanisms of corporate governance.
At Kochański & Partners, he is aiming to be a true business partner for banks – co-designing product architecture, contributing to the delivery of critical projects and implementations across all areas of their operations, and sharing accountability for the commercial outcome of each joint undertaking.
“We were looking for a leader who doesn’t simply advise banks from the outside but thinks in their terms. Radosław’s three decades on the front line of banking are a unique asset. His arrival sends a strong signal as we strengthen our broad-based cooperation with banks and financial institutions,” says Piotr Kochański, Managing Partner.
Three pillars of practice development: technology, transactions and operational scalability
We are developing our banking offering around three complementary and integrated workstreams.
New regulations, technologies and operational continuity
We support banks in areas that directly impact their operational stability, balance sheet and compliance:
- Digital resilience and cybersecurity: end-to-end audits and implementation of the DORA regulation (ICT risk management, resilience testing, audits of third-party service provider chains and cloud-service agreements) as well as cyber-incident response
- Artificial intelligence and data: secure, AI Act- and EBA/KNF-compliant deployment of analytical models, credit-risk scoring, AML algorithms and automated customer-service tools
- ESG and Green Finance: advisory on the structuring of sustainable finance instruments (green/sustainability-linked loans & bonds), EU Taxonomy compliance, environmental risk disclosure audits (SFDR/CSRD) and support in mitigating greenwashing risk across product policies
- Human capital: labour law and corporate governance, including strategic dialogue with trade unions in the context of restructuring and digitalisation processes
Project finance, restructuring and multidisciplinary services
The Banking Practice works in close integration with our M&A, real estate and tax teams. We advise on the financing of strategic infrastructure, defence and energy-transition (RES) projects, as well as on complex debt restructuring processes (work-outs, renegotiation of security packages, bridge financing) where borrower liquidity is under pressure.
The next generation of mass litigation
Portfolio litigation has become a permanent operational cost for the banking sector. And that’s why we have long been building specialist defence capabilities for financial institutions in cases involving WIBOR, the free-credit penalty (SKD), unauthorised payment transactions (NTP) and foreign-currency loans.
Our operational edge comes from a distinctive working model: over 17,000 court proceedings handled to date, an advanced technology environment built on automation and AI-driven document workflow and case analytics, highly specialised teams (with dedicated lines for settlement agreements, case law/statements of claim and pre-litigation agreements), and a robust operations and administration division that frees lawyers from repetitive procedural tasks and drives down the per-case cost borne by the client.
Ongoing banking advisory – a core strength recognised by the market and our partners
Banks are more than financial institutions. Above all, they are powerful pillars of the wider economy, co-financing the energy transition, armaments and defence, major infrastructure projects and undertakings that shape the future of entire sectors. Standing alongside them in that process calls for genuine partnership built on trust, continuity and a deep understanding of their business, and is far more than just ‘legal services’.
That’s why building lasting relationships is not merely a natural by-product of good cooperation – it’s one of our strategic objectives from the get-go.
A bank that regularly entrusts us with its matters is a client whose needs we know, whose context we understand and whom we can genuinely support – not on a project-by-project basis, but coherently and systemically across virtually every area of its operations.
“My goal is to build relationships grounded in a thorough understanding of each bank’s business needs and priorities. Today’s banks do not expect lengthy academic memoranda dissecting concerns identified through an analysis of case law and the views of legal scholars, more often than not without a clear recommendation. Today’s standard opinion must identify the available paths to the intended business objective, concisely set out the legal risks attached to each and conclude with a concrete recommendation. Management boards and heads of legal need a partner who sits down with them at the decision-making table, weighs up the options and helps steer projects safely to the finish line the business expects,” says Radosław Radowski, Partner and Head of the Banking Practice.
The key here lies in taking a personalised approach and collaborating on a day-to-day basis. Radosław has the expertise and interpersonal skills to accurately diagnose the specific needs of each organisation. He knows how to engage with people and quickly earns their respect and trust.
The lawyer as a business partner – not a theorist or inspector
Financial institutions today need sharp, open-minded partners – lawyers who understand the bank’s business model, are familiar with its products and technology and play an active role in designing processes and new solutions.
“Banks are not looking for academics spinning theoretical arguments – they want the support of pragmatists who understand the business, the product and the technology. Our job is to be a well-oiled cog in that machinery – to drive growth effectively and create added value. That is why I am embarking on this new chapter. Kochański & Partners provides me with the tools, the team and the space to build a practice that reflects exactly what a bank’s legal support should look like today, and to anticipate our clients’ needs before they even arise,” says Radosław Radowski.
Banks’ strong position despite challenging market conditions
The Polish banking sector is highly regulated yet exceptionally technologically advanced. Poland ranks among the very top European leaders in digital banking, and Polish banks play an active part in delivering public services (including applications for the 800+ child benefit, business registration and ZUS social-insurance profiles), making them an infrastructure that extends far beyond traditional banking.
Competition from fintechs and neobanks is real, but, at least over the medium term, it should not threaten the position of banks that leverage their capital and technological advantage in a considered way, investing consistently in innovation and product development. That advantage is one the financial start-up ecosystem will not be able to erode quickly.
The market for legal services to banks is large, stable and set to grow dynamically as demand for financing the economy increases – particularly in its strategic sectors, such as defence. With our unique multidisciplinary expertise, experience, technology and ability to build lasting relationships grounded in a deep understanding of our clients’ business needs, we are ready to claim an even stronger position in that market.
“We have been looking for someone who does not just know the banking sector but is rooted within it. Someone who understands how management board members and heads of legal think, what they truly need and how they make decisions, including when choosing an adviser. Radosław is exactly that kind of person, who has built his professional reputation on reliability, determination, courage and consistency,” says Piotr Kochański, Managing Partner.
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