The results of the European stress tests initiated and coordinated by the European Banking Authority (EBA) are now available. 

• The stress test exercise covered 64 key banks operating in the European Union and Norway and accounting for about 75% of total assets of the banking sector, considering the projections set at the highest level of consolidation in the EU. 
• Two Polish banks participated in the EBA stress test exercise directly: PKO Bank Polski S.A. and Bank Pekao S.A. 
• The banks’ projections cover a three-year time horizon (2025–2027), applying a static balance sheet assumption as of December 2024, and therefore do not take into account the adaptation of the banks’ business strategies and management actions to a crisis.
• The exercise used two macro-economic scenarios prepared in cooperation with the European Central Bank, the European Systemic Risk Board, and central banks in the EU and Norway. Banks had to present their projections based on a baseline scenario and an adverse scenario reflecting the materialisation of the risks identified. 

For more information about the stress test results, please visit the EBA website.

Situation of the Polish banking sector

During the last quarters, the situation of the Polish banking sector has been stable. Persistent high interest rates support generating record high net interest income, which translates into historically high net profit. As banks have intensified their efforts for amicable resolution of the issue of foreign-currency housing loans and due to significant provision coverage of this risk, simultaneously with the court proceedings move ahead, the materialisation of legal risk associated with that portfolio has less and less influence on the banks’ profits.

The consistent and conservative dividend policy pursued by the KNF and the banks’ decisions in this respect have allowed the accumulation of appropriate capital buffers, which ensure the stable functioning of banks even during a crisis (the COVID-19 pandemic or the outbreak of the war in Ukraine). The results of the European stress tests confirm that the materialisation of an adverse scenario (e.g. higher interest rates) does not threaten the stability of the Polish banks.