The attention of Poland's banking sector has started to shift to small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs).
Consisting of 1.8million active firms (from a total 3.5million registered), this sector of the economy employs 5.7 million workers and accounts for 50 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
As the spectacular bankruptcies of large firms, such as the Szczecin shipyard, show, the financial risks associated with lending to SMEs are smaller than in the case of large firms, the bankruptcy of which can cost the bank several million zlotys.
"Losing such a sum in cooperation with SMEs would require some sort of disaster to happen on the (SME) market," said Pawel Bien from Nordea Bank Polska.
Banks also count on EU subsidies to draw Small- And Medium-Size Enterprises Development Fund (MSP) customers to banks for financing. According to EU procedures, to obtain a subsidy a firm must also have a bank loan.
