Banking Sector In Poland Research Articles

Development of innovationin the Polish banking sector

The rapidly developing market for new technologies is driving the introduction of innovative solutions in the banking sector. As a public trust sector, they are subject to numerous regulations. Supervisors and central banks are trying to support the develop- ment of new technologies in the sector by reducing regulatory uncertainty and support programs aimed at FinTech (Financial Technologies) companies. The purpose of the study is to analyse existing regulations and regulators’ initiatives on new technologies in the banking sector. The author seeks to answer the research question of whether the introduced regulations support or limit the digital transformation of the banking sector in Poland. An im- portant aspect in the sector is customer security, so regulations should focus on protecting the banking customer and ensuring the stability of the sector. They are analysed by regulators so that the relevant regulations enable the introduction of innovative yet safe solutions. The author points out possible synergies resulting from cooperation between banks and FinTech companies. In conclusion, dialogue between banking sector institutions, regulators, central banks and banks leads to the creation of an environment that allows the introduction of innovative solutions while maintaining customer protection and banking sector stability.

Prediction of robo-advisory acceptance in banking services using tree-based algorithms.

The banking sector is increasingly recognising the need to implement robo-advisory. The introduction of this service may lead to increased efficiency of banks, improved quality of customer service, and a strengthened image of banks as innovative institutions. Robo-advisory uses data relating to customers, their behaviors and preferences obtained by banks from various communication channels. In the research carried out in the work, an attempt was made to obtain an answer to the question whether the data collected by banks can also be used to determine the degree of consumer interest in this type of service. This is important because the identification of customers interested in the service will allow banks to direct a properly prepared message to a selected group of addressees, increasing the effectiveness of their promotional activities. The aim of the article is to construct and examine the effectiveness of predictive models of consumer acceptance of robo-advisory services provided by banks. Based on the authors' survey on the use of artificial intelligence technology in the banking sector in Poland, in this article we construct tree-based models to predict customers' attitudes towards using robo-advisory in banking services using, as predictors, their socio-demographic characteristics, behaviours and attitudes towards modern digital technologies, experience in using banking services, as well as trust towards banks. In our study, we use selected machine learning algorithms, including a decision tree and several tree-based ensemble models. We showed that constructed models allow to effectively predict consumer acceptance of robo-advisory services.

Efficiency of the banking sector in Poland compared to other countries in the region

The banking system is one of the most important components of the financial systems on which modern economies are largely based. The occurrence of instability in this area may lead to serious economic problems. Therefore, the interest of researchers in this area has been focused mainly on assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the banking sector, which will allow for identifying possible areas for improvement. In this paper, we discuss the use of efficiency as one of the basic measures used to assess the functioning of the banking sector. The aim of this study is to examine the efficiency of the banking sector in Poland, and then to compare the obtained results with selected countries of the region in 2014–2018. The paper presents theoretical considerations in the field of the financial system, the banking system and the efficiency of entities. In the empirical part of the paper, we conducted our own research on the efficiency of the banking sector in Poland using the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) method. The results were compared with those obtained in selected countries in the region. The selected countries of the region are: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia.

Channels for the Impact of the War in Ukraine on the Commercial Banking Sector in Poland – First Results of the Study

The outbreak of war in Ukraine raises questions about its impact on the economies and financial systems of countries directly and indirectly involved in the war, but also on the economies of non-participating countries. The article aims to identify the channels through which the war in Ukraine has affected commercial banking in Poland. The original contribution of this paper to the literature dedicated to the impact of the outbreak of war on financial sector consists in the identification of channels of direct and indirect effects of war on commercial bank performance, adoption of unique empirical strategy to point out features of banks determining their sensitivity to the materialisation of geopolitical risk as well as groups of banks whose shares move along similar trajectories during the war. The conclusions emphasize that the long-term negative indirect effects of the war outweigh the short-term indirect ones. The policy implications consist in the benefits of introduction of new reporting standards for banks that focus on the exposure of their clients to the geopolitical risk, augmentation of scope of risks to be covered by regulatory capital by geopolitical risk as well as creation scenarios of stress tests that would include geopolitical risk. Facing war, the implications for commercial banks’ managers come down to the necessity to prioritize cyber risk management and implement a new paradigm of credit and market risk assessment, taking into account the impact of geopolitical factors.

Demographic and Socio-Economic Factors as Barriers to Robo-Advisory Acceptance in Poland

Theoretical background: One manifestation of the use of artificial intelligence technology in financial services is robo-advisory. Automated assistants are used in the area of communication with consumers and the sale of financial products. The development of robo-advisory services may contribute to increasing the availability of financial services and the cost efficiency of banks’ operations. So far, however, robo-advisory has not been widely used in bank services, and the reasons for this can be seen in the lack of wide acceptance of robo-advisory by bank customers, among other things. Purpose of the article: The aim of this paper is to identify barriers to the acceptance of robo-advisory in the services of banks operating in Poland. Variables relating to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of consumers were analysed. Knowledge in this area can provide banks with a practical guideline for activities aimed at increasing acceptance of artificial intelligence technology and wider use of robo-advisory in financial services. Research methods: The paper uses the results of a survey conducted in October 2020 regarding the application of artificial intelligence technology in the banking sector in Poland. The survey included a representative sample of 911 Polish citizens aged 18–65. A multinomial logit model was employed to identify variables that represent significant barriers to robo-advisory acceptance in financial services. Main findings: The conducted research helped identify the barriers to acceptance of robo-advisory among consumers in Poland. A low propensity to use robo-advisory in bank services is characteristic of respondents from older age groups, as well as those who do not show a predilection for testing new technological solutions. Lack of experience in using investment advisory services and customer concerns about the misuse of personal data by banks are also significant barriers.

Assessment of the economic activity in the Polish banking sector during the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of business tendency surveys

One of the areas of the economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is the banking sector. The aim of the study presented in the article is to answer the questions: what was the perception of the economic situation in the banking sector in Poland during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of the results of business tendency surveys, and what determined its changes over time. The research was carried out on the basis of business tendency surveys conducted by Statistics Poland and Kantar Polska in the years 2004–2021. The conclusions were based on the trend-cycle component obtained by means of the X-13-ARIMA method. The analyses showed a negative relationship between the extent of the pandemic restrictions and the economic activity in banking, especially in the first phase of the crisis. Business tendency surveys show that during this crisis, the economic situation in the banking sector deteriorated more than during the financial crisis of 2008–2009. A relatively sharp decline as well as rapid rebounds were observed in the credit market, which caused its indicators to return in 2021 to the levels recorded before the outbreak of the pandemic. In the initial phase of the crisis, the economic downturn observed in the deposit market was not as sharp as in the credit market. On the other hand, however, the economic situation in the deposit market failed to improve significantly in 2021.

Bank as a Stakeholder in the Financing of Renewable Energy Sources. Recommendations and Policy Implications for Poland

The paper concerns the role of the banking sector in renewable energy financing in Poland. The main goal of the paper is to provide recommendations for the banking sector in Poland, which can be used in the process of financing RES. The main methods used in the paper are the thorough analysis of the solutions used to finance RES in different countries and multivariate analysis of options presented on the ordinal scale. The first finding is the answer to the question of which financial instruments used by banks are the most effective in the financing of RES. It is based on the prepared ranking of different instruments used by banks in the process of renewable energy financing, by assessing the structure and value of required financing for renewable energy based on future scenarios. The second finding in the paper is the set of recommendations for the banking sector and policymakers as to financing renewable energy sources in Poland. The main conclusion is that renewable energy financing through the instruments available in the banking sector is efficient and is characterized by relatively low risk.

Makroekonomiczne determinanty ryzyka kredytowego w Polsce ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem kursów walut obcych

The purpose of the article. The aim of the study is to show the impact of the key macroeconomic determinants of the credit risk of the banking sector in Poland in 2011–2020. This aim was achieved by analysis of the Pearson correlation coefficient and econometric models allowing to determine the impact of individual variables on the NPL index.
 Methodology: The empirical part includes the presentation and description of basic descriptive statistics, as well as the calculation of the Pearson correlation coefficient with the interpretation of the obtained results. The dynamic econometric model describing the variability of the NPL ratio was built using mainly macroeconomic variables.
 Results of the research: Research has shown the impact of changes in the unemployment rate and the inflation rate on credit risk. On the other hand, the impact of economic growth on the NPL ratio in the analyzed period was not statistically significant. The relationship between credit risk and changes in foreign exchange rates (CHF, USD, EUR) turned out to be negative in the analyzed period, which means that the increases in exchange rates of these currencies did not result in a significant burden of credit risk in the banking sector in Poland.

RATIONALE BEHIND AND DILEMMAS OVER CONSOLIDATION AND COOPERATION OF COOPERATIVE BANKS IN POLAND

The study analyses the processes of consolidation of cooperative banks in Poland in 2010-2020 and the cooperation of banks within operating cooperative banking associations. The essence of the processes of consolidation and cooperation of cooperative banks was determined and their premises, scale and effects to date were presented. The main focus was on the analysis of factors determining the need for the further transformation of the cooperative banking sector in Poland and the role that may be played by bank consolidation and various forms of cooperation of cooperative banks in this process. It has been shown that the consolidation of banks, consisting of taking over economically weak banks by larger cooperative banks, better performing on the market, is necessary, but it is not a solution leading to the development of the sector. Such a solution may be the tightening of cooperation between banks within associations, leading to the gradual integration of selected areas of banking activity while maintaining the autonomy of local banks in relations (at the contact) with customers.

The Impact of Bank Tax on Lending Margin

In February 2016, Poland implemented a bank tax paid by monetary financial institutions based on the assets of their balance sheets. Two years later, the same tax was proposed in Lithuania. Critics of the tax claimed that the tax burden in Poland shifted to customers by increasing the lending margin, and were this tax to be implemented in Lithuania, negative economic consequences would be likely. The aim of this paper is to estimate the potential impact of the bank tax on the lending margin in Lithuania by evaluating the case of Poland. Currently, research studies do not provide a definitive answer about the effects of bank taxation, mainly because various types of bank tax exist. Further research of the bank tax implemented in Poland could provide more information about the consequences of the bank tax applied to the assets of financial institutions. Also, a previous investigation of Poland’s bank tax was limited by a short time series. Currently, a more accurate analysis could be done by using data over a longer period of time. Following previous research, difference-in-differences estimation is used to evaluate the impact of the policy change and uses data from the period 2012 to 2020. The results of the analysis are significant and show that the bank tax had a positive impact on lending margins in Poland by an average value of 0.39%. The descriptive analysis of the Herfindahl index shows that the banking sector of Lithuania is highly concentrated, implying that the tax burden would be shifted to bank customers by increased lending margins. In this way, the banking sector in Poland managed to avoid paying the levy by shifting the burden onto consumers. The same outcome is to be expected in Lithuania. The findings of the paper suggest that Lithuania should consider alternative ways of taxation since increased lending rates could have a negative effect on the overall economy of the country.

Wpływ pandemii COVID-19 na rentowność sektora bankowego w Polsce

Objective: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the profitability of the banking sector in Poland.Research Design & Methods: The methodologies included critical literature analysis and statistical data analysis.Findings: The profitability ratios of the banking sector in Poland deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic.Implications/Recommendations: The economic slowdown due to government restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on the banking sector in Poland, which has been weakening for several years. However, the factor that determined the decrease in the financial results and, consequently, the profitability of the banking sector in Poland to the greatest extent was the increase in provisions and write-offs for the legal risk of FX housing loans. This situation calls for corrective measures.Contribution: An assessment of the effects of a COVID-19 pandemic on the banking sector in Poland.

Migration of the Banking Sector to Digital Banking in Poland

Summary Subject and purpose of work: The aim of the article is to present selected aspects of the digitization process of the banking sector in Poland, including the role of the digital channel in the sale of banking products. Materials and methods: The research is of comparative character and is based on data from the financial website PRNews.pl, NBP, KNF and the ECB Bank. Results: Mobile banking in Poland is highly concentrated. In 2016-2019, the five largest banks serviced 82% of all mobile banking customers, and their number increased by 27% annually. Conclusions: Digitization simplifies the process of obtaining and processing information and contributes to reducing operating costs. However it also forces banks to prepare appropriate security and implement costly technological investments. It increases the availability and quality of banking services, and moves customer service from banking branches to the digital channel. Additionally it contributes to reducing the network of branches and the number of employees employed in them.

Trust in the banking sector in Poland in comparison to global trends

Motivation: Banks are called public trust institutions. This term underlines the importance of trust in the activities of these institutions. The global financial crisis has drastically reduced public trust in banks. However, nowadays, at a time of a global crisis of social trust in broadly understood institutions, more and more people tend to trust banks. This phenomenon has given rise to the need to identify factors for restoring trust in banks. Aim: The aim of the study is to compare changes in the level of trust in banks in Poland with the trends observed in this respect on a global scale. Factors strengthening or weakening public trust in banks will be also identified. Results: The research shows that in the case of the Polish market, financial stability, improvement of the quality of services provided, and care for security are the factors that have been mainly responsible for the increase in trust in banks in recent years. On a global scale, efficient problem-solving/complaint handling is also an important determinant of high trust in banks. Moreover, cultural factors were identified as determinants of differences in the level of trust in the banking sector in countries of the Western and Eastern civilisations. The research also resulted in demonstrating that the changes in the level of trust recorded for the Polish market were to a large extent a reflection of processes taking place on a global scale. However, a more detailed analysis of the data showed that in the time of the financial crisis in 2009, the decline in the level of trust in banks observed in Poland was stronger than on the global market. In turn, during the period of global economy growth, one year before the outbreak of the COVID–19 pandemic, trust in the banking sector in Poland was at a higher level than the average level of trust in banks recorded on a global scale. Such a considerable dispersion of results stems mainly from factors of an emotional nature.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN THE COOPERATIVE BANKING SECTOR IN POLAND

The corporate governance principles in the cooperative banking play crucial role in complementing institutional supervision and supporting internal controls. This paper discusses the selected issues of corporate governance in the cooperative banking sector in Poland. It outlines the contemporary challenges of corporate governance principles in the Polish cooperative banking sector related to external and internal supervision of banking activity. In addition, this paper aims to answer the question whether and to what extent the Polish cooperative banks have adopted the recommendation of the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority with regard to corporate governance in the banking sector and the extent to which internal rules for the organization of these banks affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the market. As a result, the following hypothesis was put forward: implementation of the corporate governance principles in the Polish cooperative banks has not contributed significantly to the improvement of their efficiency and has not enhanced the institutional supervision and internal controls in the cooperative banks. According to the authors, despite the existence of corporate governance principles in all Polish cooperative banks, there is still problem with the effectiveness of these institutions. Cooperative banks in Poland have experienced the phase of lethargy since 2013 and reported weaker and weaker financial results. Having in mind the fact that in 2015, that is after 14 years of stability in the sector, one of the Polish largest cooperative banks, SK-Bank, got bankruptcy, nobody predicted this event. It concludes that when it comes to the corporate governance principles the management bodies, regulators as well as supervisors require more effectively cooperation. The results in this paper confirmed that the model of credit cooperative movement adopted in Poland requires implementation of a couple of basic changes that are directly related to the utilization of the principles of a good corporate governance. The current corporate governance rules in Polish cooperative banks lead to having standardised governance without any substantial improvements and promoting better governance.

ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL OF POLISH COOPERATIVE BANKS IN THE POST-CRISIS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT

Even though the Polish cooperative banks were affected by the global crisis only indirectly, yet after the crisis their condition has begun to deteriorate. This was the result of numerous changes taking place within the macroeconomic and regulatory environment. This paper is to define the impact of crucial post-crisis regulations passed by the EU – CRDIV/CRR package, the directives on DGS and BRR – on the directions in which the organizational model of domestic cooperative banking should evolve.CRDIV/CRR is a regulatory package implementing the provisions of Basel III (Third Capital Agreement, Basel III). As part of the package, changes were made in two main areas determining banks’ security: the first one is capital adequacy, the second – liquidity and liquidity risk. Implementation of the provisions of the CRD IV/CRR package regarding banks' capital base policy into the Polish legal regime began in mid-2015 on the back of the act on macro-prudential supervision of the financial system and crisis management in the financial system dated 5 August 2015.Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS) essentially increases the protection of depositors' savings and one of its main provisions is harmonizing the methods of financing deposit-guarantee schemes ex ante. The Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2014/59/EU (BRRD) defines the principles of establishing national recovery and resolution mechanisms. The DGS and BRR Directives were introduced into the Polish legal regime by means of the act on the bank guarantee fund, deposit guarantee scheme and resolution of 10 June 2016.Based on an analysis of the impact of selected EU and national post-crisis regulations on the cooperative banking sector in Poland, two final conclusions were reached. First and foremost, in the hitherto existing regulatory environment imposing additional burdens on all banks, privileges were foreseen mainly for Institutional Protection Schemes (IPSs) members, while in the new legal regime the proportionality rule was applied to a limited extent. Secondly, due to the privileges arising from existing regulations, the evolution of the organizational model of Poland’s cooperative banking sector towards IPS seems to be inevitable.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BANKING SYSTEM IN POLAND DETERMINED BY THE PROCESSES OF ADJUSTMENT TO THE NORMATIVE AND TECHNOLOGICAL STANDARDS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CONTEMPORARY PROCESSES OF ECONOMIC AND INFORMATIONAL GLOBALIZATION

The current processes of economic and information globalization are mainly related to the successively progressing integration of financial markets, the development of ICT and Internet technologies. The liberalization of capital flows, progressing since the 1970s, was determined by many economic and political factors, including the modification of the international monetary system. The main determinants of economic and information globalization include such processes as liberalization of capital flows, deregulation of international financial markets and progress in the field of ICT. These processes constituted favorable conditions for the reconstruction of the market financial system, including the banking sector in Poland in the 1990s. Since the beginning of the systemic and economic transformation that has been taking place in Poland since 1989, the banking system and capital market institutions have been rebuilt. It referred to the Warsaw Stock Exchange market institutions, taking into account the opening of the economy to foreign capital. Foreign financial corporations taking over domestic banking entities in Poland have introduced their modern transactional and teleinformation technologies and new standards for entering into financial transactions. These processes were the main determinants of economic and information globalization that has been made in Poland since the 1990s.

Manifestations of implementation of the CSR concept in the retail banking sector in Poland

Manifestations of implementation of the CSR concept in the retail banking sector in Poland

The control of the banking sector concentration in Poland – legal and economic aspects. Selected issues

The paper aims to analyse selected legal and economic issues connected with control of concentration in the banking sector in Poland. The antitrust law aims to counteract the monopolisation of the market. Undertakings, including banks, can take actions which lead to mergers or takeovers which can strengthen the market power of some of them. The antitrust authority has normative instruments to influence the market in order to counteract its monopolisation. These instruments usually concern control of the concentration of companies (also banks). In Poland, the antitrust authorities (the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection – UOKiK) also have a legal instrument which can counteract the anticompetitive actions of banks. Because of the specific features of the financial market and financial services, general characteristics of these issues are presented in the paper. Moreover, the methods of measurement and aims of control of concentration are analysed. The main legal instrument of limiting the concentration is connected with an administrative procedure. Therefore, general provisions of these procedures are also shown in the paper. To illustrate the above-mentioned theoretical issues the statistical data concerning the level of concentration in the Polish banking sector is also analysed.

THE NORMATIVE ROLE OF THE CENTRAL BANK ON THE MONEY MARKET IN POLAND

The financial market in Poland consists of institutions and rules of market trading regulated by legal norms defined by financial law regulations. The main element of the banking sector in Poland is the banking system. It was structured in 1989 in a two-tier structure with a division into central and commercial banking modelled after the western banking model. The central bank is the main institution of the banking market and indirectly also of the entire financial market. It regulates the amount of money in the national economy using monetary policy instruments. These instruments include the impact on interest rates on the banking market, open market operations, lending and deposit operations and the shape of the reserve requirement of commercial banks. The application and functioning of these monetary policy instruments is strictly regulated by law. Despite the fact that the financial market, like other markets, is built according to the classic model of the market mechanism, in which two sides of the market interact, i.e. demand and supply, and the subject of trading is money in cash or contained in various financial instruments, this market is a particularly institutionalized and regulated market.

CONDITIONS FOR INTRODUCING A BANKING TAX IN POLAND

This article describes the main determining factors of the implementation of a bank tax in commercial banks that run their activities in Poland. It also considers the importance of legal regulations of the rules for collecting this tax. The global financial crisis of 2008 was an important factor that has stimulated the processes of improving legal regulations concerning banks. Weakening economic situation and higher risk caused the need to improve procedures and banking legal regulations of the financial transactions safety in Poland. Improvement of banking system financial procedures is correlated with gradually progressing globalization but also with anti-crisis socio-economic policy in Poland. Therefore, the level of adaptation of legal procedures and norms regarding commercial banks in Poland to the European Union standards and guidelines of the Basel Committee is continuously improving. One of the specific aspects of these adjustment processes was the introduction of a bank tax, which operates in most European Union countries. The introduction of this tax could be one of the factors determining the sale of subsidiary companies, i.e. banks that are controlled in Poland by foreign financial institutions. Therefore this can be an important factor, which would accelerate the process of repolonization of the banking sector in Poland. The economically effective introduction of a bank tax depends among other things on efficient legislative process.