banking & finance | In Principle

Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has held that bank enforcement titles are contrary to the Polish Constitution because they violate the constitutional principle of equality. Pursuant to this judgment, the relevant provisions of the Banking Law—Art. 96(1) and Art. 97(1)—will cease to be in force on 1 August 2016. The ruling is fundamentally important for the entire banking sector and for bank customers.

New regulations and interpretations will soon have an impact on equity- and debt-based crowdfunding business models.

It is clear that an ordinary pledge can secure only one claim. In the case of a financial pledge the opinions are divided.

Operators of crowdfunding platforms must consider numerous potentially applicable regulations, governing such matters as electronic services, payment services, money laundering, securities trading, foreign exchange and banking.

Amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act which went into effect on 1 January 2014 provide an opportunity to revive the practice of subparticipation in lending in Poland.

In September 2014 the Polish Sejm adopted the long-awaited but controversial Reverse Mortgage Act. The act still requires the approval of the Senate and the President—and this new financial product deserves a closer look.

Debt restructuring may be approached using solutions involving an assignment of receivables. In practice, depending on the particular factual situation, assignment may offer an attractive alternative to more traditional restructuring methods.

With planned changes to EU regulations governing the audit market, contractual clauses limiting the selection of audit firms will have to be removed from credit agreements.

Until now, it has been distinctly easier for banks in Poland to secure and later enforce their receivables than for other creditors. Will a new amendment to the Banking Law change this?

Parliamentarians seek to strip banks of the opportunity to use bank writs of execution while awarding a comparable privilege to credit unions.

Although the bank guarantee is a commonly used form for securing claims, it is one of the most controversial institutions in Polish law. In a dispute, it is essential to analyse thoroughly the documents establishing the bank guarantee.

Residential escrow accounts have been in use in Poland for over a year, but banks so far do not offer much choice to real estate developers. Access to such accounts may also be limited for smaller developers.