Are Polish banks safe?

skubusThreads: 6 Posts: 27 Joined: Jun 28, 10 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 12:59 #1
Hi folks..just a quick query..are Polish banks safe to deal with?..in other words, if i open a saving account is my money safe?..is there any possibility of the bank going bust and if it did is there any safety mechanism in place by the Polish government to guarantee customers savings??..thanks for any info on this matter

hague1cmaeronThreads: 21 Posts: 1,651 Joined: Mar 30, 10 ♂	Edited by: hague1cmaeron Oct 11, 10, 14:05 #2
Let me answer it this way, I am not sure where you are from but my guess would be that Poland's banks are safer. They did not need any bailing out like some of the other better known banking institutions around the world during the crisis. I've just noticed that you're from Ireland, in this case they are most definitely safer!

IronsideThreads: 59 Posts: 6,783 Joined: Feb 26, 09 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 14:08 #3
no banks are safe !

skubusThreads: 6 Posts: 27 Joined: Jun 28, 10 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 14:11 #4
thanks hague1cmaeron..i'm from the worst hit nation by the banking crisis IRELAND..the way things are in here now i feel that no savings are safe in any Irish bank and i'm considering moving the few quid i have to a Polish bank.

alexw68

Edited by: alexw68 Oct 11, 10, 14:19 #5

No banks safe? Maybe. But we have moved on from the days in the early-mid 1990s when:

- bank tellers' fingers would be green from counting all the fake (color photocopied) 1million/100PLN banknotes;
- you could time-arbitrage your bank account with the help of a fast car and/or a couple of mates. It worked like this:

1000: A deposits 100K in branch X of bank Y.
1100: Account details and new balance have now been updated across the country.
1115: A withdraws 100K from branch X of bank Y. The locally stored balance of account has been changed...
1125: ... but the change hasn't yet propagated across the system. A has driven the 10km flat out to branch Z of bank Y where the balance still shows 100K in credit, and withdraws the sum!

(Source: the manager at Gorzów's BPH branch many years ago, who I taught English to, then knew socially. The first example above happened to him, I witnessed it; don't know about the second, though)

OP: Don't worry about safety. That said, be prepared for quite a bit of unnecessary correspondence any time you want so much as an address changing ...

zubrowkaThreads: 4 Posts: 6 Joined: Oct 6, 10 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 14:22 #6
stay with the big ones bank pekao ing you ll b ok

WroclawThreads: 77 Posts: 7,404 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Oct 11, 10, 15:00 #7
are polish banks safe? most banks in Poland are not Polish

skubusThreads: 6 Posts: 27 Joined: Jun 28, 10 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 15:23 #8
ohhh??..who owns them????

Wroclaw BoyThreads: 57 Posts: 5,474 Joined: Jul 3, 09 MEMBER ♂	Oct 11, 10, 15:28 #9
skubus: who owns them???? yep the Irish, used to own one major bank anyway.

WroclawThreads: 77 Posts: 7,404 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Oct 11, 10, 15:29 #10
skubus: ohhh??..who owns them???? the dutch, irish, germans and a couple of others. i use deutsche bank

TeffleThreads: 28 Posts: 2,105 Joined: Aug 26, 10 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 16:04 #11
Wroclaw Boy: the Irish, used to own one major bank anyway Oh you'll be perfectly safe then. NOT.

IronsideThreads: 59 Posts: 6,783 Joined: Feb 26, 09 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 16:28 #12
Wroclaw Boy: yep the Irish, used to own one major bank anyway. WBK ?

terriThreads: 1 Posts: 385 Joined: May 3, 09 ♀	Oct 11, 10, 19:54 #13
I have some money in Polish banks, and as I understand up to a certain limit the cash is guaranteed.

grubasThreads: 20 Posts: 1,452 Joined: Feb 1, 10 ♂	Edited by: grubas Oct 11, 10, 20:04 #14
ALL deposits up to equivalent of euro 50k in banks in PL are safe under BFG insurance scheme.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Oct 11, 10, 21:34 #15
Ironside: Wroclaw Boy: yep the Irish, used to own one major bank anyway. WBK ? Spanish banking giant Banco Santander to buy Allied Irish Banks’ 70% stake in Bank Zachodni WBK - - Poland’s 5th biggest bank. skubus: if i open a saving account is my money safe? I would say yes, your money is safe in a bank in Poland.

1jolaThreads: 33 Posts: 2,737 Joined: Sep 23, 08 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 21:38 #16
No, Polish bank are not safe. Bank elswhere, idiots.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 21:41 #17
1jola: Polish bank are not safe. Why do you say that?

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂ [Suspended]	Oct 11, 10, 21:41 #18
1jola: No, Polish bank are not safe. Bank elswhere, idiots. PKO is as safe as houses - there's absolutely no way that the Polish government would let it collapse.

1jolaThreads: 33 Posts: 2,737 Joined: Sep 23, 08 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 21:45 #19
SeanBM: Why do you say that? A stupid question requires a stupid answer.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Oct 11, 10, 21:56 #20
1jola: A stupid question requires a stupid answer. Are you aware of what is happening in Ireland regarding banks? If I were in Ireland I would also wonder if my money was really that safe.

Marek11111Threads: 49 Posts: 1,954 Joined: Aug 6, 09 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 22:03 #21
Polish banks and any other banks are not safe, the safest place you can put your money is gold and silver coins otherwise you will lose all your money to financial terrorists ( wall street and their friends around the world )

♂

Oct 11, 10, 22:38 #22

Sean, think about it, why would you keep your hard earned money in a bank? For the interest rate that just floats above the infaltion rate and does not guarantee that your money will be there when you need it? Come on, you work too hard for that. Invest it. Where? That is the golden question. I would say property. That's what I do, but I might be wrong. Just to play along, think where would be a good invesment in property? Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk? Certainly, but flats might be too expensive for us po' folks. Lublin, Bialystok, Kielce? Perhaps not. Think some more. Try thinking about a place where there is a possibility that property is not outrageous, has the possibility of rising(crucial), foreign investment is likely, and you can afford it. Think of the places that the Germans did not want to bomb during the last war. Buy property there now.

♂

Edited by: SeanBM Oct 11, 10, 22:45 #23

1jola:

why would you keep your hard earned money in a bank? For the interest rate that just floats above the infaltion rate and does not guarantee that your money will be there when you need it? Come on, you work too hard for that.

I agree, absolutely but I don't know the OP situation, he just asked a question.

1jola:

Invest it. Where? That is the golden question. I would say property. That's what I do, but I might be wrong. Just to play along, think where would be a good invesment in property?

I can understand why an Irish person living in Ireland would avoid buying property like the plague. It's nothing short of a catastrophe.

1jola:

Think of the places that the Germans did not want to bomb during the last war.

Germany! :)

alexw68

Edited by: alexw68 Oct 11, 10, 22:46 #24

1jola:

Think of the places that the Germans did not want to bomb during the last war. Buy property there now.

Been there, done that. It worked very well back in 2006 but mortgage credit just ain't cheap any more (LIBOR or WIBOR comparatively low right now but marża is obscenely high compared to 2/3 years ago) and the kind of rises in house prices you saw up to 2008 aren't going to repeat in a hurry, if ever.

Bottom line - will your rental income cover the mortgage? As long as it does, you're pretty safe BUT the property booms both in PL and elsewhere have been predicated on above-inflationary jumps in the price per m2. Take that away and it's still attractive - but a lot less so.

1jola - if I may ask - did you buy outright or take a mortgage - and if so, in PLN or foreign currency?

♂

Oct 11, 10, 23:02 #25

SeanBM:

Are you aware of what is happening in Ireland regarding banks?

If I were in Ireland I would also wonder if my money was really that safe.

Why do people (not only Irish but also Americans) ***** so much about banks?They didn't do it when taking subprime mortgages, so why now?I can only understand those who did not enjoy ride on property market and now have to bail the banks out with their tax money.(which in my opinion should be allowed to fail).But the rest got what they deserve.

1jola:

Sean, think about it, why would you keep your hard earned money in a bank? For the interest rate that just floats above the infaltion rate and does not guarantee that your money will be there when you need it? Come on, you work too hard for that. Invest it. Where? That is the golden question. I would say property. That's what I do, but I might be wrong. Just to play along, think where would be a good invesment in property? Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk? Certainly, but flats might be too expensive for us po' folks. Lublin, Bialystok, Kielce? Perhaps not. Think some more. Try thinking about a place where there is a possibility that property is not outrageous, has the possibility of rising(crucial), foreign investment is likely, and you can afford it. Think of the places that the Germans did not want to bomb during the last war. Buy property there now.

There is a bubble on Polish property market and I would wait till prices retreat about 30%.

♂

Oct 11, 10, 23:08 #26

I was not talking about a money making machine. There is no such thing, legally, or without connections. In comparison, keeping money in a bank is senseless.

No, I saved my money and bought outright in PLN. I am conservative, as you might have seen from my posts. In any case, I would rather take a loan at the current 6% than keep money in the bank. No bank is safe. Swiss rates might be better and more stable but I stay with PLN. Not to beat around the bush, take a trip to Torun, walk around the old town, check the prices, or you might have a better idea. I'm no expert.

As my mother used to say, life is long. Ponder on that.

♂

Edited by: SeanBM Oct 11, 10, 23:15 #27

grubas:

so why now?

You just answered your own question quite well:

grubas:

now have to bail the banks out with their tax money.

I don't know where youz are all getting these ideas, a guy is just asking about banks in Poland. Apart from that we don't know if he wants to keep it in a bank for the interest rate or if he rode the property market wave.
All I know is he asked a question and just glancing at his threads he intends to move here, so it's probably a precautionary question.
Are the banks in Poland safe? In my opinion I think they are.

I was looking for an artical I read about the way dividends and deposits can't be taken out of Poland. I can't remember the ins and outs of it but basically if as an example, Millennium bank in other countries go bust, they can't send money from a Polish branch to "save it". Again I am unsure of the details and I don't want to misinform btu perhaps someone else knows?

♂

Oct 12, 10, 10:29 #28

Firstly, thanks to everyone for all the replies..and just to sort out a few facts..i'm not and never have been into property development..the money i'm considering investing is what my wife and i have saved over the past few years..we both work in the civil service in Ireland, but as mere mortals (we both work in front line services but are in the lower paid bracket), we are growing more and more concerned with the banking crisis in Ireland and our faith in our banks is virtually non existent, not to mention the fact that we have absolutely no faith in the Irish government..they (the government) have guaranteed all funds in Irish banks up to the value of 100k euro on any individual account but week after week they are propping up the banks with ordinary tax payers money as if they had a bottomless pot of funds.

Secondly, the amount of money we are talking about is nowhere near 100k euro (i wish)..all we want to do is put our money somewhere safe and if possible let it make a little interest..we're not interested in making vast amounts of money, all we want is to protect our hard earned savings

Unfortunately because of all the replies received i'm unsure what to do..deposit all into a bank or consider investing in property?.. which i know nothing about!!
And yes i would love to move to Poland but unfortunately we cant because we have a mortgage to pay here..i have played with the idea of handing the keys of our home back to the bank and walking away from here but it's impossible to do as no matter what country i move to the bank can track me down and still make me pay for my borrowings, so i'm stuck here for another while :-(

♂

Edited by: jwojcie Oct 12, 10, 12:03 #29

Hi
Regarding banks in Poland, it is true that most of them are under polish banking insurance (BFG) up to 50000 eur, but there is/was exception = Polbank which is in fact branch of Greek bank. They are insured in Hellenic Deposit & Investment Guarantee Fund (HDIGF). The risk is that if this branch fails (though nothing points to that) you will have to go to Athens to get your money back. Considering situation of Greece it seems risky business that is why Polbank has some competetive offers btw... As far as I know it is only exception.

Another bit of warning is that some bank products which are called "deposit structure" in fact are not deposits but investement structures so they aren't insured. They offer better interests but of course with greater risk.

skubus:

Unfortunately because of all the replies received i'm unsure what to do..deposit all into a bank or consider investing in property?.. which i know nothing about!!

The best thing is to keep your money away from things you don't know nothing about ;)

MalopolaninThreads: 8 Posts: 198 Joined: Sep 5, 10 ♂	Oct 12, 10, 18:00 #30
http://www.bfg.pl/?m_id=668 Kwota depozytów nie przekraczająca równowartości w złotych 50 000 euro jest gwarantowana w całości.

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