Jacek Jastrzębski, Chair of the KNF, received a special ‘Capital Market Personality’ award at the ‘Bulls and Bears’ gala organised by Rzeczpospolita daily and Gazeta Giełdy i Inwestorów ‘Parkiet’ daily. As explained in the justification, the award has been granted for the consistent building of security and credibility of the Polish financial market, for contribution to its growth, and for presence in the most crucial debates on the future of the capital market in times of dynamic changes that have not made life easier, namely unexpected events and growing expectations among market participants.

When accepting the award, Jacek Jastrzębski emphasised that he treated it as acknowledgement for work of the entire UKNF team. ‘It is a truism to say that the head person would do nothing alone,’ he emphasised. This is a hard and often invisible work of many that contributes to the achievement by the financial supervisor of the goals mentioned by the editorial team of Parkiet daily in the justification of the award. 

In this context, the Chair of the KNF also referred to the specificity of the financial supervisor’s functioning, as on a daily basis the supervisor does not operate in the spotlight, and if everything works well, the work remains invisible. Effectiveness of supervision usually means the absence of spectacular events in the market. 

The Chair of the KNF also emphasised that he treated the award as a form of recognition for the financial supervision model that the UKNF had been attempting to implement during the last couple of years. The model provides for building predictability through an open and direct dialogue with the market in order to better understand mutual expectations and needs. In the opinion of Jacek Jastrzębski, such predictability is the best cure for the challenges of today's reality, characterised mainly by uncertainty, often due to external factors. 

He pointed to key challenges and opportunities faced by the Polish economy, emphasising the importance of the capital market in further development of the country. ‘We have never been so close to finally catching up with the West, which has been the beacon of our aspirations for years,’ he indicated, underlining that this is a special moment in Poland’s economic history. We need to get into a higher gear, and the development of the capital market is a necessary condition. He also emphasised that accumulating long-term savings and promoting investment activity constitute the cornerstone of financial security for future generations, while the current market situation creates favourable environment to that end. Record high results achieved by our capital market recently are a unique opportunity as they may contribute to making a wider group of Poles interested in investments. This, in turn, creates a real chance to accumulate long-term savings and strengthen the retirement security system.

He also pointed to the responsibility of public institutions and market participants for taking advantage of the unique chance resulting from the current market situation. In the face of demographic challenges and the growing need to secure the society’s financial future, fostering the culture of investment and promoting the capital market among the increasingly wide groups of clients are becoming a key task for the years to come. ‘Our responsibility is not to waste this chance, offered by the great results of the capital market. And to really promote investments in the capital market,’ he added. 

‘I am not saying that these are easy times but definitely fascinating. I can say that it is an honour to lead the financial supervision authority these days and cooperate with you these days,’ the Chair closed his speech, addressing the representatives of the capital market.