Safe Bank

This study examines changes in European regulation, particularly the way economic regulations have been proposed and implemented – with a particular focus on financial markets – since the introduction of the Lamfalussy architecture and the proposals of the de Larosière Group. It also offers proposals for addressing future challenges. Market fragmentation within the EU, national protectionism, and divergent supervision hinder the effective functioning of the single financial market. Europe needs massive private investment to increase competitiveness, defense potential, and technological leadership. This requires, among other things, integrated capital markets and profound legislative changes. This includes a shift from directives to regulations and an increased role for EU agencies (e.g., ESMA, EBA, EIOPA) in creating and implementing European law. Furthermore, the growth of cross-border financial interconnections requires centralized supervision, which could reduce transaction costs and increase the efficiency of law enforcement. Unfortunately, the supervisory functions of EU agencies are limited by national supervisory structures and the dominance of the home country principle. However, member states fear a loss of sovereignty, and critics of centralization invoke the Meroni Doctrine, arguing that the EU lacks treaty-based powers over prudential supervision. Hence, the growing role of EU agencies in the legislative process raises questions about their legitimacy and democratic oversight.

Financial market supervision in Poland began with the start of systemic transformation and the development of a market-based system of financial institutions. In its initial phase, it was sector-specific. It then evolved and gained additional powers as financial institutions developed, the economy grew, and Polish law needed to be brought into line with EU standards. In 2006, integrated supervision of the entire financial market was established and entrusted to the Financial Supervision Authority. Integrated supervision of the financial market in Poland is the result of efforts to increase the consistency and effectiveness of supervision by consolidating competences within a single institution – the Financial Supervision Authority. This process reflects international trends and the need to adapt the national regulatory system to European Union standards and the challenges of contemporary and global financial markets. At the same time, it poses challenges for the state in terms of institutional coordination, ensuring the independence of supervision and effective enforcement of regulations, as well as crisis management.

The project of building a single European Union (EU) market for financial services, recently rebranded as Savings and Investments Union (SIU), aims at breaking the barriers that isolate each EU country’s financial system from the rest of the EU economy. Given its capital-hungry economic dynamism and relative lack of financial development, Poland has more to gain than most other EU member states from progress towards SIU.

This article examines the links between climate change and financial stability in the scientific literature. The BERTopic method was applied to analyze over one thousand abstracts of publications indexed in Scopus, and the results were validated using a dataset from Web of Science. The findings indicate the dominance of topics related to climate policy and transition risks, whose importance has increased significantly after 2015. At the same time, issues concerning physical risks – such as climate-related disasters, water resources, and flood risk – are also present, though less prominently represented. A particularly notable gap concerns direct references to macroprudential policy objectives. The comparative analysis also reveals geographical differentiation: in countries pursuing intensive climate policies (e.g., EU member states), research is predominantly focused on transition risks, whereas in regions particularly exposed to extreme weather events (e.g., India), the emphasis is placed on physical risks. Analyses based on Web of Science abstracts confirm the conclusions drawn from Scopus publications. The findings highlight the need for further research on the integration of climate-related risks into macroprudential policy.

Sustainable development is present in literature and practice, and regulations require reporting,
even in cases where the actual willingness to achieve the goals and objectives of
this concept is limited. This applies particularly to reporting on the implementation of ESG
objectives. Relatively little is known about the impact of a company’s ESG information on
third parties, especially in the area of providing ..inancing. The aim of this study is to assess
the impact of a company’s ESG information on the risk assessment of its ..inancing by banks.
This article tests the hypothesis that ESG information disclosed by a company is crucial for
assessing the possibility of banks providing ..inancing. The article conducts a critical analysis
of literature, legal acts, and internal bank documents regarding ESG. Finally, available industry
reports are used. In addition to the issue of granting or not granting ..inancing through
the prism of the applied creditworthiness criteria, special attention is paid to assessing the
ESG risk – the loss of value of accepted collateral (e.g., real estate). From the perspective
of companies, the research results support the conclusion that ESG risk management, depending
on the effectiveness of this process, can mitigate the negative impact on an entity’s
creditworthiness.

The article uses a critical analysis of literature and legal acts. An assessment was made of internal regulations of banking institutions in the studied scope as well as few industry reports. The scope of the article refers to the impact of ESG risk on the assessment of the creditworthiness of business entities and the assessment of the possible loss of value of accepted collateral (e.g. real estate). The research results allow us to conclude that ESG risk management, depending on the efficiency of this process, may limit the negative impact on the assessment of the creditworthiness of the entity.

The Wirecard case was the largest economic scandal in Europe since the Second World War. Thousands of bondholders and shareholders lost their money, and lawsuits were filed against Wirecard, the regulators, the management board, and the auditor Ernst & Young (EY). EY audited Wirecard's consolidated financial statements for ten years. The fraud at Wirecard took place in Asia through business activities with so-called third-party acquirers (TPAs). The scandal resulted in cash funds amounting to 1.9 billion Euros not being available. These funds were allegedly held in escrow accounts. This article shows which audit procedures had to be performed to ensure that the cash funds reported in the balance sheet were actually available. There has been a whole series of alarm signals from outside Wirecard with high relevance for the orientation of the risk-oriented audit approach by the auditor. In addition, Wirecard had numerous indicators of fraud listed in one of the auditing standards. However, this did not have a sufficient impact on EY's risk-based audit approach. On the contrary, the company often relied on Wirecard's verbal statements. Had the audit been conducted properly, the fraud could have been uncovered very quickly. The following article uncovers massive deficiencies in the audit procedures with regard to the escrow accounts. Given the business activity in the TPA business with only three business partners, the dubious nature of the trustee, the involvement of only one bank where the escrow accounts were held, and the paramount importance of the amounts for Wirecard's going concern, it was imperative that the auditor obtain proof of the existence of the cash via a bank confirmation. If the auditor's report had been refused regarding the TPA business at an early stage, which would have been the inevitable consequence if the audit had been carried out properly, the negative financial effects for bondholders and shareholders would have been significantly reduced.

Purpose: The article aims to evaluate RippleNet as a tool for processing cross-border
payments, with particular emphasis on its ability to provide fast and predictable settlement,
as well as its potential role in the modernization of global payment systems.
Problem and research method: Traditional models based on the SWIFT system, which
serves only as a communication network and requires settlement within domestic payment
infrastructures, are associated with high costs, low transparency, and long settlement
times. In response to these limitations, blockchain technology has begun to be applied in
cross-border payments. This study uses data from the public XRP Ledger (XRPL) to analyze
settlement time, the structure and topology of the payment network, the concentration of
activity, and transaction dynamics. The empirical ..indings are then combined with insights
from the literature and presented in the form of a SWOT analysis.
Results: RippleNet enables quasi-instant settlement – the average transaction ..inalization
time is 3.87 seconds, with maximum delays not exceeding 9 seconds. At the same time,
network activity is highly concentrated, with a small number of nodes and communities
accounting for the majority of transaction volume, as con..irmed by the calculated Gini
coef..icient (0.969). The analysis shows that RippleNet functions in practice as a scale-free
network, in which institutional hubs play a dominant role. The main bene..its of the system
include speed, cost reduction, and transparency, while key limitations involve regulatory
risks and heavy reliance on a small group of dominant participants.
Conclusions: RippleNet demonstrates characteristics that make it an innovative solution
for cross-border payments and a potential technological bridge in the context of CBDC
integration. However, its broader adoption will depend on regulatory adaptation, addressing
the problem of activity concentration, and the readiness of ..inancial institutions to implement
distributed settlement systems.

In the discussions concerning the consequences of the invalidation of mortgage contracts in Poland and how to reduce them, legal risk management is mentioned in the first place. Hence, the paper focuses on this risk and ways of mitigating it.

The article characterises undertakings aimed at developing and introducing into economic circulation a model mortgage credit agreement, with the intention of popularising its use in credit transactions, which should reduce the legal risk of the parties to such transactions. The starting point for this work was the recommendation of the Responsible Finance Club of 2022 postulating the elimination of prohibited contractual terms ex ante, and not - as is currently the case - ex post. The model mortgage contract and its relevance for state financial stability are also discussed.

This paper discusses the concept and initial results of the EKF Investor Relations Rating (RIR
EKF), a new index assessing the quality of banks’ communications with the market. The RIR
EKF aims to narrow the gap between broad corporate governance indicators and the need
for systematic assessment of investor relations effectiveness, especially important in the banking sector. The index covers six areas: IR website content, sustainability/ESG, technical
aspects, online communication, quality of disclosures, and industry awards. Its scale follows
credit ratings (AAA–D). In a 2025 pilot study, 20 banks from Poland, Western Europe, and
CEE were assessed. Domestic banks achieved results comparable to Western institutions
and outperformed CEE peers, particularly in ESG. Although the project requires further
methodological re..inement and greater transparency, it holds the potential to become
a benchmark for investor relations quality and a tool for mitigating information risk.