Safe Bank

In recent years some central banks have lowered their official policy rates below zero (implementing a so-called negative interest rate policy – NIRP). This has taken place during a period in which the prevailing view in the literature has been that a zero lower bound constrains nominal interest rates. The goal of this study is to assess whether NIRP has any impact – or, in principle, an impact stronger than that of conventional monetary policy – on systemic risk. The analysis presented in this article allows to conclude that uniqueness of NIRP’s impact may be characterized as arising from the evolution of the structure and intensity of impulse transmission while leaving the structure of the monetary policy transmission mechanism unaffected. Simultaneously, neither NIRP nor positive interest rates policy is not identified as systemic risk event but as a factor affecting the overall level of systemic risk.

The purpose of this article is to discuss existing and proposed EU regulations on ESG risks within the prudential regulation of banks. The nature of ESG factors and risks, the European Commission's objectives for sustainable finance and the identification of key regulations are discussed. The possibility of including ESG risks in micro- and macro-prudential regulation for banks is then analysed, with pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of the different possible standards. The analysis leads to the conclusion that pillar one of micro-prudential regulation is not appropriate to address ESG risks, and that a better outcome would be to expand pillar two and three, as well as macro-prudential regulation. These elements should be consistent with broader sustainability and monetary policies.  The effectiveness of prudential arrangements will depend on the degree of market development and the perception of sustainability objectives and ESG risks themselves by supervisors and the market (investors, customers of financial institutions and issuers of securities).

The article deals with the issues related to the bankruptcy of Sberbank Europe AG. On February 24, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory began. In response to this agression, the Member States of the European Union and the European Union as such imposed direct economic sanctions on the Russian Federation. Economic ties were seriously disrupted. Sberbank Europe AG, owned by an entity based in Russia, experienced severe liquidity problems. The European Central Bank announced that, in its opinion, Sberbank Europe AG and its two subsidiaries in the banking union, Sberbank d.d. in Croatia and Sberbank banka d.d. in Slovenia they are failing or likely to fail (FOLTF) for the abovementioned reason. This decision was confirmed by the Single Resolution Board. The text analyzes actions taken by safety net institutions in the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In this aspect, the decision to initiate or not to initiate the resolution procedure is of particular importance in the first place. Then, attention was paid to the scope of the resolution tools used. The importance of national authorities, including deposit guarantee schemes, in the crisis management process was emphasized. The article uses information available on the websites of financial safety net institutions, press publications and financial statements of the Sberbank group entities.

The need to introduce regulations on resolution of financial institutions was one of the major lessons learnt from the global f inancial crisis. As a part of regulatory reform, the applicable solutions have already been adopted in the European Union, establishing legal framework for resolution for the banking sector and CCPs. The next group of institutions which are expected to be covered by these regulations are insurance companies. Published in 2021, the draft IRRD is largely based on BRRD however, the insurance business differs significantly from the banking activity. This specificity needs to be taken into account in the resolution regulations for insurers. This article indicates the essential issues, which need to be considered in resolution for insurance companies and critically analyzes the main building blocks of the proposed IRRD. The key issues discussed in the article are resolution objectives and triggers, resolution tools, as well as the

The purpose of the this paper was an attempt to determine the determinants of house loans with fixed and variable interest rates in selected European countries. The literature review on the subject was carried out, and with regard to 18 European countries, aggregate and banks unit level data (from 2009 to 2019) was analysed using the dynamic panel data models in generalized method of moments (GMM) and a comparative analysis. The results indicated that covered bonds were an important source of financing for fixed interest rate house loans. On the other hand, in countries with high share of granted house loans with variable interest rates, customer deposits were an important source of their financing. It was also found that the lower house loans credit risk weights, the higher share of fixed rate house loans in total granted house loans pool. The obtained results may indicate the direction of actions that should be taken in order to change the interest rate type structure on house loan market in Poland.

The aim of this article is to try to verify the business case for ESN as a new capital market instrument. The hypothesis adopted by the author states that there is a business case for ESN as an instrument used to fund banking activities in the field of lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. The concept of a new dual- recourse capital instrument for the stable, long-term funding of lending to small and medium-sized enterprises is high on the EU’s agenda. Modeled on the structure that contributed to the success of covered bonds, they address the financial needs of a key segment of the European economy, particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, they meet the needs of investors looking for profitable instruments with a low level of risk. By ensuring the necessary increase in transparency and standardization of ESG data for small and medium-sized enterprises, ESNs can be an important tool in rebuilding a sustainable, post-pandemic European economy, especially after the end of government support programs and quantitative easing of central banks. The development of the  new instrument would be supported by the preferential regulatory treatment known from covered bonds as well as the capital relief of bank issuers based on a securitization mechanism. The author’s analysis across the main stakeholders: issuers, investors, the real sector as well as policy makers and market regulators, leads to the conclusion that the ESN market has significant potential and its construction has a well-established business case that can count on political support from the EU.