The Role of the Bank Guarantee Fund in Protecting the Interests of the Depositories in the Polish Banking System

The article presents a short analysis of the banking sector in Poland as well as the tasks, mission and goals of the Bank Guarantee Fund. The analysis of the guaranteed reimbursements paid since February 1995 till January 2016 shows that the banking sector in Poland is quite stable. Between 2002 and 2013 no bank, be it commercial, cooperative or a credit-and-savings union did not file for bankruptcy. The first years of the BGF’s activity were particularly difficult – the years 1995 and 1996 when a total of 81 institutions collapsed. However the biggest challenge for the Bank Guarantee Fund was experienced in the last 2 years (2014- 2015). In this period record high obligations had to be paid by the BGF after the bankruptcy of SKOK ‘Wolomin’, SKOK ‘Wspólnota’ and credit-and-savings unions as well as the cooperative bank called SK Bank. The beginning of 2016 brought another collapse – a much less spectacular than the previous ones, but nonetheless an extension of a dangerous market trend – the bankruptcy of SKOK “Kujawiak” creditsavings union seated in Wloclawek. This initiated a subsequent reimbursement of funds by the Bank Guarantee Fund. The situation of the banking sector in Poland is becoming less and less stable, especially in the area of cooperative banks and foremost among the cooperative credit-and-savings unions. One must emphasize that so far the Bank Guarantee Fund has effectively met all of its obligations and it constitutes a real pillar for the security and the stability on the financial market.