In April 2022, banks and credit unions granted more cash and installment loans than a year ago. However, the number of mortgage loans granted significantly decreased. The total amount borrowed in April was also lower. In April 2022, compared to April 2021, in numerical terms, banks and credit unions granted more of two types of loans: installment loans (up by 4.5%) and cash loans (up by 3.9%), according to the **Credit Information Bureau (BIK)**. In contrast, significantly fewer mortgage loans were granted compared to a year ago – this category saw a drop of as much as 38.7 percent. The number of credit card limits granted also decreased by one-third. A decline was also observed in the value of granted loans. In this regard, banks and credit unions disbursed less than a year ago across all credit product categories. The value of housing loans granted saw the largest decrease, by almost one-third. The value of loans for installment purchases and cash loans decreased only slightly – by 1.6% and 0.9% respectively. In comparison to the previous month, banks granted fewer loans in April and for a lower total amount, according to BIK. In the first months of 2022, negative dynamics in both value and numerical terms apply to both credit cards and mortgages. However, compared to the same period in 2021, Poles took out more cash and installment loans – and for a collectively higher amount. The structure of granted loans may indicate that Poles are borrowing to finance current needs. – In the first months of 2022, the dynamics of low-value loans (up to PLN 10,000) were the highest. These loans account for 9.1% of sales value and nearly half of the number of cash loans granted in the period January-April 2022. It should also be noted that we are currently observing high positive dynamics in the non-bank loan sector – states Prof. Waldemar Rogowski, chief analyst at BIK. – Both low-value cash loans and non-bank loans are most often taken out to finance current household needs. In the current situation, they can therefore serve as a source of financing for sudden needs that exceed current income – indicates the expert. Real Estate: Collapse in Lending Activity Turning to the mortgage loan market, used for purchasing an apartment, we are observing a market collapse. In April of the current year, compared to April 2021, the housing loan market experienced a very significant decrease in the number of loans granted (by over one-third – 38.7%). The dynamics are also negative in terms of value (32.5%) – reports BIK. – For housing loans, April was a very bad month. In numerical terms, it was even very bad, as banks granted only 14,570 loans in April. This is the lowest figure during the entire pandemic and the lowest since December 2017 – points out Prof. Rogowski. – In my opinion, such a weak lending result in April, despite a record number of mortgage loan applicants in March, may partly result from a decrease in the loan approval rate by banks. We have already had eight interest rate hikes. The last one in May could not yet be reflected in the lending activity itself. Interest rate hikes have very significantly reduced creditworthiness. In addition, KNF's actions, which tighten creditworthiness calculation requirements, also negatively affect creditworthiness – enumerates the expert. BIK further indicates that when analyzing the provided data, it should be taken into account that the data on housing loans for April do not necessarily reflect the number and amounts of loans applied for by Polish residents at that time. Firstly, it concerns the specificity of credit products – consumer loans (i.e., installment and cash loans) and credit cards are processed very quickly from the application. Typically, the application submission and the granting of a loan or credit limit are completed within one month. However, housing loans are processed longer, up to two months from the application – consequently, housing loan sales in April 2022 are the result of applications submitted mainly in February and March.

In a series of video interviews, recorded by our editorial team during the Impact’22 conference, we asked conference guests about the most important economic events and phenomena in Poland and around the world. In this episode, Wiktor Janicki, President of the Management Board of AstraZeneca Pharma Poland, is interviewed by Katarzyna Mokrzycka. Katarzyna Mokrzycka speaks with her guest primarily about the use of new technologies in modern patient care and whether the pharmaceutical industry will soon move from drug production to utilizing innovations that could prevent us from getting sick altogether. In conversation with 300Gospodarka, Wiktor Janicki points out that AstraZeneca takes a holistic approach to healthcare. Therefore, it does not only work on drugs that support the therapy process but also considers how to prevent diseases and support diagnostics. – At the same time, we know that as a company, we have a certain specialization – creating super-innovative drugs, the manufacturing technology for which we then want to make available to the widest possible range of partners – says the representative of the company, which we all currently know as one of the first producers of the Covid-19 vaccine. He also talks about the nature of this collaboration with the market environment, the public and research sectors – especially with Polish startups.