Articles in English
Obserwator Finansowy features views and analysis of economy in Poland and other countries, written by some of the best journalists, economists and analysts. Our mission is to share knowledge of economics and financial markets in the world.
Obserwator Finansowy is a project under aegis of the Poland’s central bank, Narodowy Bank Polski. We have published thousands of articles about the Polish and global economy. Our journalists have conducted hundreds of interviews with Nobel laureates, distinguished economists, business leaders and politicians with views across the political spectrum.
In this section you can find selected articles in English.
Ukraine: living on borrowed money
Next year Ukraine will have to incur a huge debt in order to make ends meet. However, there are fewer and fewer creditors willing to provide it with the necessary financing. In the draft budget for 2021 the Ukrainian...
The market is ruled by narratives
The markets are efficient over the long term, and because of that the stock market can serve as a barometer of the situation in the economy – provided that it accurately reflects its structure. However, sometimes the...
The banking industry is opening up slowly
The principles of open banking have been in force in the EU for over a year, but the availability of open banking services is still low. However, the philosophy of open banking is being adopted by more and more countries,...
Russian central bank after (some) dirty money
Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank and key financial regulator, wants to change Russia’s anti-money laundering laws in order to have more decision-making power over which companies can be deemed risky from a...
Gold is back in favor
Gold has once again become a safe haven for investors. However, a return to the gold standard is a scenario that is unlikely to materialize – says Krishan Gopaul, Market Intelligence Analyst at the World Gold Council...
Insurance will not solve the effects of climate change
The increasing occurrences of weather anomalies make it necessary to introduce solutions that will reduce the damage caused by extreme climate events, which are hitting agriculture particularly hard. Without them, it is only...
Automatic financial advice is knocking at our doors
After the financial crisis we saw a rapid development of automated financial advisory platforms (known as robo-advice). The question now arises whether these services constitute a threat to traditional, financial advisory...
NBP has injected PLN158bn into Poland’s banking system
“In the period from March 16th to the end of September NBP injected PLN158bn (approx. EUR 35bn) into the Polish banking system. This corresponds to approximately 7 per cent of Poland’s GDP – said Adam Glapiński, the...
Banks are not playing too safe when granting credits
In a sample of over 700 firms analyzed in July and August 2020, refusal to grant a loan was very rare and only affected few per cent of respondents. In particular, incidences of refusal to finance a good investment project...
Return of securitization
Securitization, stigmatized for being one of the main causes of the 2008 financial crisis, is in practice becoming an increasingly enticing mechanism for reviving assets and creating new ones. The establishment of a clear...