Financial Crime World

Polish Banking System: Depositor Protection, Bank Secrecy and Prudential Regime

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In this article, we will explore the key aspects of the Polish banking system, including depositor protection, bank secrecy, and prudential regime.

Depositor Protection

The Polish mandatory depositor protection scheme is administered by the Bank Guarantee Fund (BGF), a special legal person established to govern the scheme. All banks with their corporate seat in Poland are required to participate in the fund by contributing to it in proportion to several factors, including:

  • The bank’s management profile
  • Capital
  • Liquidity
  • Quality of assets

The guarantee covers funds accumulated in bank accounts, other receivables arising from selected banking activities, and selected receivables of the person who covered funeral costs of a deceased bank account holder. However, the guarantee does not extend to deposits that were not subject to turnover for two years prior to the date of fulfillment of the guarantee condition.

Bank Secrecy

The Banking Law requires banks, their employees, and all persons or entities through whom banks perform banking activities to maintain bank secrecy. The secrecy extends to all information concerning a banking activity, including:

  • Obtained during negotiation
  • Conclusion
  • Execution of the contract governing the particular banking activity

However, the obligation to maintain bank secrecy does not extend to cases where disclosure is necessary for:

  • Proper performance of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations
  • Ongoing proceedings for certain crimes or fiscal crimes

Prudential Regime

The Banking Law prescribes the minimum initial capital of a bank at PLN equivalent of EUR5 million. However, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (PFSA) requires the initial capital to correspond to the intended scale and scope of bank activities.

The EU adopted the CRR/CRD package to implement most of the Basel III standards. These acts are either directly applicable in Poland or were implemented in the Banking Law.

Contributors

This article was written with the expertise of:

  • Dr Marcin Olechowski
  • Dr Wojciech Iwański
  • Tytus Brzezicki

From the law firm Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak. We hope you find this article informative and useful in navigating the complex regulatory landscape of Poland.

Law Firm: Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak