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.
The Polish personal loan market
Mirosław CiesielskiThe personal loan sector in Poland represents just a small part of the financial services for individual customers, which is dominated by banks. Compared with the lending markets in other countries, the Polish personal loan...
Credit risks for Southeast European banks
Vedran ObućinaIn the Southeast Europe (SEE) banking has changed significantly. Before 2008 crisis the largest growth of assets was in housing loans, today the growth is noticeable, first of all, in the non-purpose cash loans.
Czech bank moves to German market
Filip BrokešIn the middle of October 2019, Velvon Bank, the sister company of the Czech online bank Air Bank, announced that it had been granted a German banking license. Velvon chose Munich as the seat for its German operations.
The consequences of reforming banks too big to fail
Andrzej DżurykThe process of reforming systemically important banks hasn't been completed yet. The independence and credibility of the regulatory and supervisory bodies will be of crucial importance in the effort to reduce the systemic...
Sberbank embraces blockchain technology
Filip BrokešSberbank, Russian largest bank, made a pilot blockchain transaction. Under the leadership of the former economy minister Herman Gref, Sberbank has been focusing on blockchain technology for nearly two years.
Uneven progress in the digitalization of banks
Mirosław CiesielskiDigitalization remains a challenge for traditional banks and few of them are able to achieve success that translates into financial profits. Meanwhile, an entire class of digitally-native entities has entered the market.
CHF-denominated mortgages in Western Balkans
Milica MilojevićIn mid-September, the Supreme Court of Croatia ruled that "the banks violated the collective interests and rights of the loan holders of CHF-denominated loans." Banks had violated clients' rights "by using unfair and harmful...
Telegram’s cryptocurrency project clashes with regulators
Filip BrokešOnly 5 years after the a highly popular cloud-based instant messaging service, Telegram was founded by Russians — Durov brothers — the company announced its entrance into the cryptocurrency domain.
European Central Bank impacts economies of all CSE countries
Maria BnińskaCentral banks may use conventional or unconventional forms of monetary policy. Whichever is chosen by the European Central Bank (ECB) it influences all Central and Southeast European (CSE) countries.
FinTech services gain popularity
Mirosław CiesielskiThe activity of the financial technology companies has become a permanent feature of the global financial system, and an average of 64 per cent of consumers have used their services this year.