Red Tape Hot Box the trouble with banks
On average, bank customers in Poland pay around zł.340 a year for the privilege of holding a current account and for doing simple transactions. The price for doing money transfers over the phone is twenty times higher in Poland than it is in the EU (Poland - c0.23, EU - c0.01) whilst to transfer money at the bank costs three times as much (Poland - c0.75, EU - c0.25). No wonder many Poles can't afford to have a current account and that only 40 percent actually do. In the Czech Republic, 63 percent of the population holds a current account, as compared with more than 90 percent in the EU. Moreover, Polish banks react slowly to the lowering of interest rates by the Monetary Council. As a result, loans are quite expensive and difficult to obtain. The reason is that the banks' policy states that the borrower should be able to cover 35 percent or more of his planned investment in order to obtain a business loan. This means that Polish banks are unwilling to give loans to Polish entrepreneurs - the owners of small, developing firms. All over the world, banks work out special offer plans for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet in Poland, only 15 percent of SMEs have taken out loans. This paradoxically restrictive loan policy does not help when it comes to giving loans to credible people. In Poland, the rate of bad credit distribution is twice the rate in EU countries. This is mainly the fault of the banks' staff and management, who are unable to decide wisely to whom they should grant loans.
"They are expensive and inaccessible"- such is the general opinion among the owners of SMEs. No wonder that banks have gained this reputation, and yet, on the other hand, they shouldn't be blamed for wanting to create more and more money for themselves. After all, we live in an age of capitalism. If they are able to be profitable despite having so few clients and such a reputation for being "expensive," then that's fine. However, this state of affairs is guaranteed by our government, which is the main debtor for the banks. In recent years, the banks have given zł.107 billion of credit to the state, that most credible of clients. Given that they have such a cash cow in their pocket, it's perhaps no wonder the banks have lost interest in ordinary citizens. The remedy for this problematic situation would therefore appear to be very simple. The state has to stop borrowing money from the banks, and the banks will then immediately remember their 'everyday' clients. However, though this remedy may seem to be easy and simple for the citizens, it appears to be far more difficult for our government to accept.
"They are expensive and inaccessible"- such is the general opinion among the owners of SMEs. No wonder that banks have gained this reputation, and yet, on the other hand, they shouldn't be blamed for wanting to create more and more money for themselves. After all, we live in an age of capitalism. If they are able to be profitable despite having so few clients and such a reputation for being "expensive," then that's fine. However, this state of affairs is guaranteed by our government, which is the main debtor for the banks. In recent years, the banks have given zł.107 billion of credit to the state, that most credible of clients. Given that they have such a cash cow in their pocket, it's perhaps no wonder the banks have lost interest in ordinary citizens. The remedy for this problematic situation would therefore appear to be very simple. The state has to stop borrowing money from the banks, and the banks will then immediately remember their 'everyday' clients. However, though this remedy may seem to be easy and simple for the citizens, it appears to be far more difficult for our government to accept.
