Exchange Rate Risk On The Mortgage Market

Strict connections of the real estate market with the financial market are an unquestionable phenomenon at every level of investing, starting from the lowest individual investor, and finishing with national and transnational players. One of the more interesting examples of such a dependency is the problem of the risk of financing the real estate market, which results from numerous macro-, mezo- and microeconomic conditions, including, inter alias, the phenomenon of capital migration, supranational bank regulations or the development of currency exchange rates on world markets. The most recent example of such a dependency is, among others, the decision of the National Bank of Switzerland from the beginning of 2015 to abandon the Swiss franc-euro cap, which will go down in the history of the world financial market. Its global effects will surely be very difficult to assess, while the resulting turbulences and consequences for many (institutional, corporation and individual) market participants cause, on the one hand, awaiting a reaction and actions aimed at helping entities affected by the consequences of the mentioned decision and, on the other, many questions and doubts.The paper will present current selected aspects concerning currency risk in the context of financing the residential real estate market and the directions of actions prepared in reaction to the abovementioned risk. Polish conditions will be presented against the background of examples of foreign solutions.The aim of the work is to present: the essence of currency risk in the context of the current financial situation of the Polish banking sector,the most important directions of proposals for remedial actions aimed at mitigating the effects of the significant increase in the exchange rate of the Swiss franc in relation to the Polish currency,a short overview of selected solutions/regulations regarding the exchange rate risk of mortgages taken out in a foreign currency in other countries.The method employed was the critical analysis of the most-recent reports and recommendations of the National Bank of Poland, Polish Financial Supervision Authority, Polish Banking Union, and other experts on the subject of financing the real estate market, as well as a comparative analysis of solutions regarding currency risk in selected countries.