Coronavirus crisis ramps up pressure on Poland’s banks

“The risk is that banks will be expected to bear part of the burden of supporting the Polish economy through debt forgiveness and rescheduling in return for the reduction in capital requirements,” says Andrzej Powierza, an equity analyst at Citi Handlowy Brokerage House. Both market leader PKO BP and number three player Bank Pekao are state-controlled, a factor that raises red flags for investors given the interventionist tendencies of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS). The risk is that banks will be expected to bear part of the burden of supporting the Polish economy through debt forgiveness and rescheduling in return for the reduction in capital requirements - Andrzej Powierza, Citi Handlowy Brokerage House All banks in Poland are also facing a squeeze on margins after the central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to a record low of 1% on March 17.