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.
Belgian KBC interested in buying Bulgaria’s fourth-largest bank by assets
Jo HarperKBC has expressed interest in acquiring United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), Belgian media reported. KBC has contracted JP Morgan to help it with the procedure, according to the online edition of newspaper L'Echo.
The digitalization of banks is too slow
Mirosław CiesielskiMost of banks are looking for their place in the digital world and are lacking a digital strategy, shows the study "How ready are European banks for a digital world", conducted by the International Data Corporation and SAP.
S&P’s raises long and short-term sovereign credit ratings for Hungary as Orbanomics sees positive effects
Jo HarperStandard and Poor’s has raised its long and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings for Hungary to BBB-/A-3 from BB+/B, putting the country back in the investment grade, Hungarian news agency MTI...
IMF will not grant Belarus an unconditional loan
Martyna KośkaBelarus urgently needs a loan to meet its obligations. It is counting on aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In September, experts from the IMF made a review of the reforms implemented by Minsk.
Cybercrime may cost Polish banks up to PLN1bn
Jacek RamotowskiThe financial sector is trying to reach the customer in all possible ways but more channels mean higher risk of cyberattack, warns Przemysław Skowron from White Cat Security
Draghi’s Another Headache – threatened independence of Slovenia’s Central Bank
Tom Hashimoto, Jure StojanGovernor Boštjan Jazbec entered his corner office on the first floor of Slovenia’s Central Bank (Banka Slovenije) and found himself surrounded by the criminal investigators from the National Investigation Office...
Bank failures in Ukraine ruin citizens and hit the economy
Michał KozakThe wave of bank failures in Ukraine has brought over UAH400bn in losses. The banking catastrophe, which has already been nicknamed “bankollapse”, has hit the whole economy hard.
Europe is gladly using Islamic funds
Katarzyna CzupaAfter the Brexit decision, Indonesia and Malaysia began taking over UK’s sukuk (“sharia compliant" bonds) investors. But they are still choosing Luxembourg and Ireland instead of traditional Islamic finance markets.
The IMF will not allow itself to be cheated by the Kiev authorities
Michał KozakUkraine hopes to receive USD2.7bn worth of support from the International Monetary Fund by the end of 2016. Kiev's efforts have stalled, however, because the declarations of the authorities are not matched by their...
Further loyalty systems are not enough
Grzegorz HansenThere are very few innovative projects directed towards large companies, and hardly any in the offer of the Polish FinTechs.