DILEMMAS OF BANK ACTIVITIES UNDER ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY – SELECTED EXAMPLES FROM THE POLISH MARKET DURING THE PANDEMIC PERIOD

Abstract

The paper discusses the issue of identifying selected aspects of banking sector activity in Poland under conditions of economic uncertainty. In terms of time scope, the conditions of the pandemic were taken into account, including the years 2018-2020. In an attempt to identify the most important business dilemmas of banking, the case study of PKO BP bank has been selected for analysis. Based on its own research, it was noted that the year 2020, precisely because of the coronavirus pandemic, somehow forced sectoral changes in the financial enterprise management. The study verified the hypothesis that the bank’s overall financial performance is affected not only by management decisions, but also by external factors that are difficult to predict. Institutional decisions of the central bank and the government are also a consequence of macroeconomic uncertainty. It was noted that as a result of the National Bank of Poland’s monetary policy in 2020, the evaluated bank PKO BP reported, compared to 2019, a financial loss (almost -3.0 billion PLN), including: a decrease in general revenues (-9.05%), as well as a decrease in interest income due (-6.90%). Finally, based on the descriptive analysis and the discussion of the study results, the most important conclusions and recommendations were formulated.