Mateusz Kosiorowski | In Principle

On 27 April 2026 the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) reported the suspected manipulation of the prices of financial instruments and exploitation of inside information in the trading of shares of three listed companies, submitting to law enforcement authorities a notice of suspicion of commission of criminal offences. This event provides an occasion to reflect on the scope of protection of D&O insurance held by members of the corporate authorities of public companies in analogous situations.

For nearly three years, financial market entities have had the possibility of reaching a settlement on the terms for extraordinary mitigation of sanctions imposed by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). During that time KNF has offered 29 settlements to businesses, only one of which involved complete waiver of a fine. 

Until now, the administrative courts in Poland have issued only a handful of rulings on the statutory duty to maintain the confidentiality of insurance information. But in March 2026 the Supreme Administrative Court revisited this issue, holding that the city guard may demand information from an insurer under a civil liability policy for motor vehicles in order to punish the holder of a vehicle for illegal parking.

We recently reported on the growing number of lawsuits against banks by consumers challenging clauses in credit agreements based on the WIBOR benchmark, alleging that they are “unfair” under Directive 93/13/EEC. Both lenders and borrowers anxiously awaited a decision by the Court of Justice in C-471/24, J.J. v PKO BP SA, on a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Częstochowa Regional Court. The judgment handed down on 12 February 2026 clearly met the expectations of the banking sector more than borrowers. 

The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has published its draft Recommendations for Insurance Undertakings on Insurance Distribution. The recommendations are to be issued under Art. 365(1)(2)(a)–(c) of the Insurance and Reinsurance Act of 11 September 2015 and are designed to ensure legal compliance by insurers, to combat infringement of the interests of policyholders, insureds and beneficiaries, and to mitigate risks in the insurers’ operations.

On 22 January 2026 the Court of Justice of the European Union issued another in a series of rulings resolving doubts arising out of litigation over Swiss-franc-denominated mortgage loans to Polish borrowers. In C-902/24, Herchoski, the Court of Justice considered a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by the 28th Civil Division of the Warsaw Regional Court.

The property insurance policies available on the market, such as homeowner’s insurance, automobile insurance, coverage of business property, and construction and installation insurance, typically exclude the insurer’s liability for loss caused by war, hostile acts, terrorism or sabotage. These clauses have been purely hypothetical, but recent events in Poland are leading to a reconsideration of their interpretation and application.

Banks’ liability for unauthorised payment transactions is one of the leading issues in the law of payment services. It directly affects the scope of protection of consumers using modern payment instruments. In an age of dynamic growth in electronic banking and a rising number of cyber offences, this problem takes on particular importance for users of payment services and for financial institutions.

In disputes over consumer credit, banks deal not only with consumers but also with companies whose business is to buy up claims from consumers, including claims related to the sanction of “free credit.” But this procedure generates many questions. Can consumers sell their claims against the bank? If so, under what conditions can the acquirer pursue the claim before the court?

On 19 June 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union issued an important ruling for Polish legal practice in C-396/24, Lubreczlik, responding to a request for a preliminary ruling from the Kraków Regional Court on the rules for settling accounts between the parties to an invalidated credit agreement. 

Some consumers are attempting via the Polish courts to undermine provisions in credit agreements setting variable interest rates on the basis of the WIBOR benchmark. They hope that the courts will hold these clauses to be impermissible under Civil Code Art. 3851. This would allow their credit agreement as a whole, or the specific WIBOR provisions, to be set aside. But does Polish law empower the courts to examine the alleged abusiveness of such provisions?

Variable interest rate loans based on the WIBOR benchmark are a major part of the Polish financial market. For years the WIBOR rate remained at a low level, but it shot up in 2022. The WIBOR 6M stood at 0.25% in January 2021, but by July 2022 it had hit a peak of 7.43%. Currently the WIBOR 6M is a little lower (5.05% as of 10 June 2025), but it has yet to retreat to its earlier low values.