Safe Bank

This paper presents monetary policy measures undertaken by selected central banks across the World following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special focus on the Federal Reserve System and the Eurosystem. Against a background of falling global economic activity and rising risk aversion in global financial markets due to the pandemic, which was accompanied by announced or implemented large anti-crisis fiscal measures in many countries, a very large number of central banks eased their monetary policy. Not only did they lower short-term interest rates, they also employed a number of other tools, such as asset purchases, additional liquidity provision operations, foreign exchange interventions and swap lines. The universality, pace, range, and scale of monetary policy easing was unprecedented. At the current juncture, given the ongoing pandemic and the uncertainty about its economic impact, it is difficult to forecast the total scale and scope of the global monetary expansion.

This essay discusses the optimal shape of monetary policy in Poland as the Polish economy faces the COVID-19 pandemic. It starts by discussing possible scenarios for GDP and inflation dynamics in 2020, and next it focuses on monetary policy. It reviews recent moves as taken by the Monetary Policy Council in March and April 2020, and then analyses the possibility of monetary policy in Poland going long by allowing interest rates on long-term repo operations to be lower than the reference rate. In doing so it uses, among others, the idea of reversal interest rate. Although this paper generally supports the idea of Polish monetary policy going long, it also underlines some potential risks of implementing non-standard instruments of monetary policy.

The aim of the study is to analyze the direct and indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the Polish banking sector. We analyzed activities aimed at maintaining the banking sector’s ability to finance the economy undertaken by the government, central bank, banking supervision, and banks in Poland, as well as assessed the financial situation of the banking sector in the period preceding Covid-19 and shortly thereafter. We found that anti-crisis measures and interventions were reflected in the financial situation of banks in the first month of their introduction, among others, by a rise in write-offs for provisions for receivables, an increase in other operating costs, or a significant decrease in receivables from debt instruments. The latter being due to the central bank providing additional liquidity to banks. Unfortunately, contrary to the expectations for increased credit availability, banks tightened their lending policy and focused mainly on financing their existing clients who had only temporary financial problems caused by COVID-19. One possible explanation for this is a lack of financial incentives for banks that neutralize an increase in risk and operating costs amid the pandemic (e.g. fiscal), despite the existence of such preferences for Treasury securities.

This paper provides a first assessment of the effect of the Covid-19 emergency on the Italian economy. The impact of the pandemic is analyzed from three  points of view: the institutional settings and the differences in power between the central and local governments; the impact on the real economy and sectoral differences; the role of the banking sector in supporting the real economy during and after the crisis. The paper highlights how the pandemic affected Italian regions and sectors differently, and presents policy consideration regarding the European banking sector.

The Bank Guarantee Fund (BGF) is a basic element of the Polish financial safety net. In recent years, the shape of its activity has undergone significant modifications. Therefore, questioning the completeness of the new BGF business model becomes justified. The purpose of the article is to identify fields in which the BGF’s activities could be developed. The Fund’s tasks were identified and then compared with the results of an analysis of 109 deposit guarantee systems around the world. Based on the international experience, several areas can be identified where the BGF’s operations can be improved. They include introducing the possibility of providing financial assistance to banks whose situation has worsened, increasing the level of diversification of investments made by the Fund, and strengthening the BGF’s information and education activities through a presence in social media.

The aim of the study is to analyse the manner of using the commission instrument for granting loans by financial institutions in Poland, with particular emphasis on cases including early repayment of debt. The research was based on a study of 12 cases of consumer loans repayment before the due date. The study identified the impact of the commission on the APRC (particularly in case of early repayment) and the risk associated with the borrower’s claim for repayment of part of the commission. The results obtained indicate that the commission for granting a loan is not only an instrument that increases the cost of the loan, but also the one which guarantees the achievement of a certain profitability in the event of early repayment thereof. Moreover, the results lead to the conclusion that, taking into account legal fees and court costs, consumers may waive the right to reclaim commission in the event of early repayment of a loan.