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.
How will the recession look like?
Vedran ObućinaIn the Q1’20, the economy of the European Union and the Eurozone has recorded the biggest decline since 1995, reflecting the introduction of measures to combat COVID 19, Eurostat reported. The seasonally adjusted GDP of...
The problem of state aid in a common market
Filip BrokešAs the EU member states imposed restrictions to protect their citizens from the COVID-19 virus, many businesses across the continent took a strong economic hit. To help with their struggle, EU temporarily loosened...
What will be the shape of the crisis recovery?
Arkadiusz SierońA recession is now inevitable. But it will be followed by a quick recovery? The optimists are hoping for a V-shaped recovery, but it can be a little less vigorous, can require a fiscal and monetary stimulus and take a...
Fintech expansion is progressing
Mirosław Ciesielski2019 was a successful year for the fintech sector. Many start-ups have increased their valuations and customer bases. They have successfully entered new markets and developed innovative services, taking over the revenues of...
International trade in services is slowing down
Łukasz MatuszczakA significant slowdown in the Polish trade growth in services has been already observed by the end of 2019. The Q4’19 results have been one of the weakest recorded since the end of the global financial crisis The current...
Coronavirus tsunami hits the Ukrainian economy
Michał KozakThe lockdown restrictions and the state of emergency declared by the Ukrainian government are ravaging the already faltering economy of Ukraine. At the end of March 2020, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal presented a...
Mobile banking applications: a success story
Mirosława KaczmarekThe scale of the boom in the access to banking services via mobile devices is well illustrated by an analysis of the growth rate of the number of users, which amounted to 33 per cent on average in 2014-2019. At the end of...
Ageing economies
Obserwator FinansowyThe population of the already reduced European Union will shrink from 447.2 million in 2020 to 408.2 million by the end of the century. At the same time, there will be 40 million more Europeans 65+ year old than today. For...
Czech budget in the worst shape since 1993
Filip BrokešThe Czech government approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal to increase the state deficit to CZK300bn (EUR10.9bn), up from the previously estimated CZK100bn (EUR3.6bn). This is already the worst budgetary performance...
Central bankers must be able to say no to governments
Sebastian StodolakWe should not compare today’s crisis to the previous one, says Paul Tucker, former Deputy Governor of Bank of England. And what central banks are doing is, according to him, not business as usual but they have a reason: a...