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.
Lithuania’s finance minister to Poland: You must join eurozone
Jan CieńskiRimantas Sadzius, Lithuania's finance minister, has a message for his Polish counterparts who are worried about joining the euro: “You have no reason to stay away. You must join.”
Counterfactual: A world without Swiss franc loans
It is 2006. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) is working on Recommendation S regarding foreign currency mortgages. It is encouraged by large banks which do not want to take part in the risky race for profits...
Banking union’s success depends on further integration
Milena KabzaThe Eurozone’s sovereign-debt crisis both reflected and reinforced the banking crisis. Instituting a common regulatory framework in a form of a Eurozone-wide banking union is aimed to sever the link between public debt and...
Conservative and Stable: Poland’s Buttoned-up Banks
Andrew KurethTwenty-five years after Poland’s political and economic transformation, the country’s banking sector has proven one of its biggest success stories. Poland’s banks have weathered several global downturns – including...
Swiss Decision Sends Ripples Across Central Europe
Jan CieńskiThe unexpected decision by the Swiss National Bank Thursday to stop defending the longtime benchmark of 1.20 francs to the euro has set off panic across central Europe, with Poland the most exposed of all the region’s...
Banks must cut costs deeply to make themselves attractive to investors
Jacek RamotowskiAlthough the economic crisis has largely ended, European banks have not yet regained their balance, and their biggest problem is a lack of profitability. Although their capital strength has ceased to be an issue, lending...
TFI Sector Nets Lower Profits Despite Managed Asset Value Growth
Katarzyna DomańskaWe have recently witnessed a very interesting situation in the sector of investment fund management companies (TFIs). Investment funds’ assets have increased considerably, which means sales of participation units have...
Safer financial system will improve channelling of credit to the economy
Jacek RamotowskiThe role of banks in the financing of the Union's real economy and financial intermediation remains high, but the capital market will become relatively more important. Further reforms should accompany this transformation and...
Sinn: The convergence can’t be artificial
Jacek RamotowskiThe European Central Bank counteracts country-specific risk premia in eurozone, that hinders proper allocation of capital and incurs the risk of building up a new credit bubble. Meanwhile the eurozone is already waiting to...
If the Banking Union, it is only in its entirety
Jacek RamotowskiThe Banking Union can be effective and give the potential to break the vicious cycle of fiscal and financial instability only if at the same time all necessary components are in place – a Single Rule Book, a Single...