Disappointing demand

Michał Pakulniewicz: How would you describe the current state of the loan market?

Jan Bujak: There isn't much demand for loans from either the small- and medium-sized companies or the large corporations. This is due to the fact that recently companies have had good financial results and are putting off investments. This can be clearly seen when we analyze macroeconomic data. The supply of capital and the amounts that are in the companies' accounts are growing, and loans are stable. The companies earn more, the corporate tax is lower and they are waiting with the money in their accounts. The political situation isn't favorable as well. But, we as Fortis Bank are able to acquire clients, especially from the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, which have a good financial condition and still have the need to finance their businesses.

Does that mean that the demand for loans is lower than in the previous years?

Among the large corporations the demand for loans is definitely lower than before, and the sales of loans on the market in general are lower. But we manage to win new clients, mainly from the small and medium size enterprise sector. 

Do you expect this trend to continue in the near future?

Of course, it depends on the macroeconomic situation in the country. Providing that it will be favorable ... there will be growing demand for loans on the companies' side, because large investments will be needed.

What about the loans related to the aid funds and subsidies from the European Union?  

 

If we compare the number of our clients' project applications that were filed with the institutions dealing with those claims, then Fortis Bank is among the top four banks in terms of number of projects that were accepted. However, we must admit that restrictions and requirements related to the financing of small companies result in many claims being rejected. We expected that at the end of the day, we would finance more projects. This is not typical for us, I know that other banks have similar problems.

So what should be done?

One of the first priorities of the new government should be changing the regulations in order to make it possible for the entrepreneurs to get the funds and the aid from the EU. Today the regulations are just hopeless. Our regulations are too complicated, too formalized which delays distributing the funds among Polish entrepreneurs. The government has already said that these regulations must be changed, and we firmly agree with that.

Interviewed by Michał Pakulniewicz