Sylwia Boguska | In Principle

With increasing mobility on the labour market, more and more foreigners from non-EU countries are settling in Poland for economic reasons. As most often salaries are paid by bank transfer, one of the first issues when relocating is to open a bank account in Poland. To keep up with market changes, Polish banks try to make their offers more flexible and adapt them to customers’ current needs. Thus banks offer many services aimed at foreigners, including those from non-EU countries, and banking products are becoming more and more available to them.

One of the most critical issues captivating banks and their retail borrowers in recent years in Poland has been the future of foreign currency loans, especially those denominated in or indexed to Swiss francs. After the political battle around such loans has settled, the issue is now mainly addressed in court proceedings between borrowers and creditors. A long-awaited judgment was issued by the European Court of Justice on 3 October 2019 and has already been followed by judgments of local Polish courts. Putting aside myths and hopes, we look closer at what may be the actual consequences of the ECJ ruling for all interested parties: borrowers and both primary and secondary creditors.