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Poland Banking Reform, 1990-92
A fundamental reorganization of the banking sector took
place
between 1990 and 1992. The NBP lost all its central
planning
functions, including holding the accounts of state
enterprises,
making transfers among them, crediting their operations,
and
exercising financial control of their activities. The NBP
thus
became only a central bank, and state enterprises competed
with
other businesses for the scarce credits available from
commercial
banks. In its new form, the NBP exercised a considerable
degree
of autonomy in monetary policy and performed the same
functions
as the central banks in West European countries or the
Federal
Reserve System in the United States.
Nevertheless, the entire Polish banking system remained
inefficient in the early 1990s because of backward banking
technology and a very serious shortage of trained
personnel in
all branches. Considerable technical and financial aid
from the
World Bank, the IMF, and the central banks of Western
countries
was expected to improve the situation eventually.
Data as of October 1992
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