Persons proposed for positions - Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego

Modification date:

In accordance with Article 30(1) point 2 of the Banking Law, the establishment of a bank may take place if the persons proposed as members of the supervisory board and management board at the bank meet the requirements set out in Article 22aa of the Banking Law. In particular, they must have the knowledge, skills and experience appropriate to the functions and duties to be assigned to them and must provide a guarantee of proper performance of duties

The guarantee means a warranty, assurance about something, and therefore an objective lack of any irremovable doubts as to the occurrence of a specific state in the future. This means that there should be no doubt that the persons proposed as members of the supervisory board and management board of the bank will perform their duties in a due manner, i.e. in a relevant, correct, appropriate, congruous, and above all fair and lawful manner, achieving the intended objectives without prejudice to the correct—lawful, sound, prudent and safe for the funds being collected—bank management. Should any such irremovable doubt arise, it should be deemed that the person does not provide the guarantee. Correct, sound and prudent management of a bank means that the actions undertaken as part of bank management not only comply with applicable regulations, but are also reasonable, undertaken with appropriate caution and without excessive risk (caution), and the effects of such activities are proportional to their scale, do not cause any sudden change in the bank’s economic and financial situation, and do not affect the perception of the bank as a trustworthy institution, which exercises due care to protect the funds collected (stability). 

The guarantee of proper performance of duties, understood as the ability to ensure and guarantee such conduct is a requirement which is separate from professional qualifications (knowledge, skills, and experience) appropriate for the performance of specific duties of the president and should primarily result from the repute of the person concerned and their conduct in their personal and professional life. 

In addition, persons proposed as member of the management board of the bank, referred to in Article 22a(3) and (4) (that is, the president of the management board and the member of the management board supervising the management of the material risks in the bank’s activity) have proven their command of the Polish language. Under Article 30(1a) of the Banking Law, the KNF waives, by way of a decision made upon request of the bank founders, from the requirement regarding the command of the Polish language if this is not necessary for the reasons of prudential supervision, taking into account, in particular, the acceptable level of risk or the bank’s scope of activity. Under Article 34(1) of the Banking Law, in the document of authorisation to establish a bank, the KNF approves the composition of the first management board of the bank.