Polish banking official says partnership with Azerbaijan entering stronger phase

The strategic partnership between the Azerbaijani and Polish banking associations has been strengthened, Executive Vice President of the Polish Banking Association Wlodzimierz Kicinski said at the 9th International Banking Forum in Baku, Azernews reports.

Kicinski noted that work is actively underway to deepen long-term cooperation between the Azerbaijani Banking Association and its Polish counterpart. He stressed that the “existing friendly relations between the two countries, the history of successful economic cooperation and growing bilateral trade create favorable conditions for further strengthening of future cooperation.”

Speaking about Poland’s banking landscape, he stated: “The Polish Banking Association represents almost all banks operating in the country. Currently, there are 550 banks in Poland. These include 65 commercial banks and approximately 500 cooperative banks actively operating in agricultural regions. The main challenges of the banking sector are related to geopolitical processes, increasing investment volumes and meeting customer demands at a higher level.”

Kicinski also highlighted the role of innovation in Poland’s financial sector.
“In Poland, there is effective cooperation between private and public banks. The activities of the Banking Technology Forum also play an important role in the implementation of innovative solutions in the sector,” he said.

He added that more than 50 percent of Polish bank customers use only mobile banking, emphasizing the modern and highly capitalized nature of the country’s banking system:
“This is also indicated by the fact that 4 Polish banks are among the 34 world's digital banking leaders.”