Security deposit

The rapid transformation which Poland's financial markets are undergoing increases the risk of market instability, say experts.

"With financial markets changing substantially, we need to remember about the safety and stability of the whole system," said Sławomir Skrzypek, President of the National Bank of Poland, at a forum held by the Polish Bank Association (ZBP). He stressed that the central bank is not the only institution that should guarantee this security.

Stanisław Kluza, the Chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), sees efficient communication and cooperation in the financial sector as a way to ensure stability. "Over 90 percent of the procedures we perform must be standardized," he stressed. Kluza also pointed out the necessity of education and information as a means of protecting the consumers.

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, president of the management board of Bank Pekao, also sees communication as a key method. "It is necessary to work on closer cooperation on the level of management boards," he said.

However, communication can only go so far. With borders between financial institutions disappearing, potential crises could develop more rapidly, claimed professor Małgorzata Zaleska from the Warsaw School of Economics. She stressed the danger of a lack of proper planning for managing a potential financial crisis.

"Financiers are like shipbuilders who believe the boat will not sink," agreed professor Leszek Pawłowicz, from the Gdańsk Academy of Banking. "Still, if a crisis occurs, who will pay for it?"

However, in Zaleska's view, creating a crisis-management system should not lead to overly restrictive regulations on banking activity. "Constant changes in regulatory procedures move bankers away from regular duties and generate additional costs," she said.