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.
BaaS — banking without a license
Mirosław CiesielskiBanking-as-a-service (BaaS) is a process in which banks provide access to the back-office to third parties. This enables the latter to offer financial services without the need of obtaining banking licenses and possessing...
Catching up with the “old” EU, but not quite there yet
Obserwator FinansowyThe difference in the consumption level in Poland and the EU average is narrowing. Polish incomes are lagging behind other EU member states, but the prices are also much lower. However, Romania is catching up with the more...
Central banks in March – the first reaction to the pandemic
Adrian PrzerywaczThe central banks of the world’s major economies responded relatively quickly to the economic and financial threats caused by the pandemic by using several measures. The goal was to ensure the availability of preferential...
Belarus quickly depletes financial reserves
Filip BrokešAs the political crisis in Belarus increases, banks find themselves under severe pressure. With an ever growing number of people withdrawing money, the National Bank of Belarus has no choice but to sell its reserves on...
The Eurozone is increasingly indebted
Paweł KowalewskiIt's hard to believe that at the beginning of this year Germany was wondering what to do with its budget surplus. The “black zero” policy, which basically boils down to maintaining balanced budgets, was still popular.
The pandemic could change “Big Pharma” for good
Sebastian StodolakThe coronavirus pandemic may have shown various weaknesses of the pharmaceutical industry, but it has potentially created an opportunity for the sector to cure itself. The pandemic could solve the problems of patents and...
The Ukrainian central bank: changes in the monetary policy?
Michał KozakIn July 2020, the former governor of the Ukrainian central bank NBU Jakiv Smoliy resigned from his position. The new head of the central bank, Kyrylo Shevchenko, has announced the continuation of the monetary policy pursued...
Russia raises funds for social spending
Filip BrokešRussia’s state Pension Fund is in a desperate need of additional transfers from state coffers. The Russian government is looking for creative ways to fill the gaps, such as confiscating “suspicious savings”, taxing tax...
Success of business and private aviation companies
Vedran ObućinaIn anticipation of the return of more commercial airlines to the European sky, this air gap is filled by private and small business planes whose number of landings and departures with tourists and business travelers is...
The coronavirus will accelerate transformation of the global energy
Obserwator FinansowyIn 2020, the global energy consumption will decrease by about 6 per cent, and more than 3 million energy industry workers have already lost or will lose their jobs. At the same time new investments are needed to ensure that...