POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Marcin Olechowski, Wojciech Iwański, Tytus Brzezicki and Piotr Orłowski, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
• accepting deposits of money payable on demand or on a specified date and maintain - ing accounts for such deposits; • maintaining other bank accounts; • granting loans, whether “bank loans” ( kredyty bankowe ) or cash loans ( pożyczki ); • granting and confirming bank guarantees and opening and confirming letters of credit; • issuing bank securities; • providing payment services and issuing elec - tronic money; • acquiring and disposing of monetary receiva - bles; • storing objects and securities and providing safe deposit boxes; • conducting the purchase and sale of foreign exchange values; • granting and confirming guarantees (sureties); • performing commissioned activities related to the issuance of securities; and • performing other activities specified for banks in other laws. The restrictive interpretation presented by the PFSA provides that if the regulations do not explicitly authorise a bank to carry out a certain business activity, such activity should not be pursued as the bank’s regular business. Brokerage activities Notwithstanding the foregoing, a bank may con - duct brokerage activities after obtaining a permit from the PFSA (at the stage of the bank’s estab - lishment or for a change in the articles of asso - ciation during the bank’s existence). This creates an obligation to attach additional documents (inter alia, procedures, statements, and regula - tions) to the PFSA. A bank’s brokerage activities may be conducted on the condition that these activities are organisationally separated from the bank’s other activities (“organisational separa - tion”).
The ATFI also sets out detailed rules for when the performance of certain brokerage activities by a bank does not constitute brokerage activi - ties and does not require authorisation from the PFSA. With additional authorisation from the PFSA, a bank may operate securities accounts, deriva - tives accounts and omnibus accounts (“custody activities”). MiCAR activities Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (the “Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation” (MiCAR)) establishes simplified rules for credit institutions (banks) with regard to providing crypto-asset services and offering asset-referenced tokens to the public and seeking such tokens’ admission to trading. Instead of obtaining a specific licence under MiCAR, credit institutions must execute certain notification obligations. By way of example, a credit institution may provide crypto-asset ser - vices if it successfully fulfils a notification obliga - tion towards the competent authority of its home member state at least 40 working days before providing those services for the first time. In Poland, a law is still being drafted to ensure the practical application of MiCAR. The relevant supervisory authority will be the PFSA. Conditions of Authorisation Under the BL, a bank can be established if: • the bank is equipped with adequate own funds – the amount of which should cor - respond to the type of banking activities to be performed and the size of the intended activity; • the bank is equipped with premises that have adequate technical equipment;
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