According to NBP’s 2012 report, small and medium-sized businesses in Poland suffered from restrictive lending policies last year. The rising costs of external financing and guaranties requirements impacted many companies. “The banks have changed their leverage policy. Financing for 90 percent of the investments is no longer possible. At least 30 percent of the equity from companies became standard,” said Łukasz Wiejak of Gold Finance. According to Krzysztof Pietrasiewicz of ZBP (the Polish Banks Association), the situation is unlikely to change this year, although it is possible rising stability on the European markets could improve credit access for Polish companies.
