​Europe needs to mobilize capital - not just public funds

Ludmiła ​Falak-Cyniak, Vice President of the Management Board PKO Bank Polski pointed out that strategic areas - such as defense, energy security, and digital transformation - "are not merely budgetary programs, but the very infrastructure of how our societies function."

​PKO Bank Polski, Poland’s largest lender, believes that none of these objectives can be achieved without the active participation of the private sector and the utilization of the vast potential of household savings.

​Europe is institutionally ready - but needs more societal mobilization

​She indicated that although the EU possesses a solid financial architecture and investment instruments, there is still a lack of broad citizen engagement in building European capital.

​Polish households have accumulated assets worth PLN 3.8 trillion, yet a significant portion remains in bank deposits, representing "an untapped potential for private capital accumulation." According to Eurostat data, current deposits account for nearly one-third of the GDP of EU countries - and in Germany, Sweden, and Italy, they exceed 40 percent.

​A shift in regulatory culture is needed - from overprotection to responsibly enabling risk

​Ludmiła ​Falak-Cyniak, Vice President of the Management Board PKO Bank Polski  stressed that the current supervisory approach - especially the application of the suitability test under MiFID II - discourages citizens from participating in capital markets.

​"Today's system leads to exclusion - and that is not genuine protection," she noted.

​In her view, EU institutions and national regulators should support a portfolio approach to risk assessment, which:

• ​Reflects the actual way an investor bears risk
• ​Supports diversification
• ​Enables the gradual building of investment experience
• ​Allows for the offering of simple and scalable solutions - such as ready-made portfolios or investment accounts encompassing various asset classes

​Risk must be explained, not used to discourage investors

​Ludmiła ​Falak-Cyniak, Vice President of the Management Board PKO Bank Polski  emphasized that risk communication should be based on realistic scenarios, portfolio structure, and investment horizons, rather than being dominated by formal legal warnings.

​"Clients are capable of accepting risk - if they understand it," she stated.

​Capital mobilization - a prerequisite for European competitiveness

​In conclusion, Ludmiła Falak-Cyniak Vice President of the Management Board, PKO Bank Polski  highlighted that for Europe to effectively finance its strategic transformation - in defense, energy, and technology - it must unlock access to private savings and "shift from excessive protection to effective protection."

​"If we want to be regulatory-secure and capital-competitive, we must measure risk where it truly exists - at the level of the entire portfolio, not a single transaction," she said.

*** 

PKO Bank Polski is the largest bank in Poland, and institution with over 100 years of tradition. We provide financial services to more than 12,4 million individual, business, corporate and local government customers. Thanks to the IKO application, we are the most mobile bank in Poland. Every second we settle in over 30 transactions by IKO. We process around one million inbound and outbound transfers every day. We are in 314 counties, and 75% of Poles have less than 5 km from home to us. The expansion of our clients is supported by the bank's corporate branches in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania., Sweden, Lithuania and Austria. Through the PKO Foundation, we initiate and implement social projects. We are also involved in supporting culture and sports. PKO Bank Polski Capital Group provides the most comprehensive offer of financial services in Poland. It includes, among others, a company operating in the leasing, pension insurance, investment funds and factoring. The stock market capitalization of PKO Bank Polski at the end of 2024 amounted to PLN 74.7 billion. 
#no. 1 and Full Stop

Piotr Żakowiecki
prasa@pkobp.pl