Subordinated, perpetual and revenue bonds in Poland – attempt to assess the economic impact of amendments to the Act on Bonds

W niniejszym artykule zaprezentowano zmiany dotyczące obligacji nieskarbowych w Polsce, jakie wprowadziła nowelizacja ustawy o obligacjach z 2015 r., oraz podjęto próbę oceny ich ekonomicznych skutków. Nowa ustawa ma wspierać rozwój rynku opisywanych instrumentów finansowych. W tym celu wprowadzono m.in. nowe rodzaje obligacji – podporządkowane i wieczyste. Ponadto dokonano szeregu zmian mających na celu stworzenie warunków prawnych do rozwoju zdefiniowanych w prawie, ale nadal rzadko stosowanych obligacji przychodowych. W niniejszym artykule autor rozważa potencjalne ekonomiczne skutki dokonanych zmian.In this article the author presents regulatory changes with respect to non-Treasury bonds in Poland, which have been introduced by the amendment to the Act on Bonds of 2015 and attempts to assess their economic effects. The aim of the new law was to support the development of the bond market. To this end new types of bond have been introduced: subordinated and perpetual bonds. Furthermore new regulations for revenue bonds have been adopted – bonds which had been defined in law but rarely used in practice. In this article the author discusses the potential economic impact of the changes to the law

Trust in self-government in Poland: an attempt at an evaluation

Zaufanie do samorządu terytorialnego ma kluczowe znaczenie dla skuteczności podejmowanych przez jego jednostki działań w zakresie realizowania przypisanych zadań publicznych. W niniejszym artykule podjęto rozważania na temat zaufania do władzy, w tym do władzy samorządowej. Najważniejszy element opracowania stanowi jednak próba oceny poziomu zaufania do samorządu terytorialnego w Polsce. Pomiaru dokonano na trzy sposoby, analizując wyniki badań opinii publicznej, badając kształtowanie się frekwencji w wyborach samorządowych, a także wnioskując o jego poziomie na podstawie ratingów kredytowych uzyskanych przez jednostki samorządu. Każde z badań pokazało systematyczny wzrost zaufania od momentu przywrócenia samorządu terytorialnego w Polsce.Trust in self-government is crucial for the effectiveness of the realisation of public tasks vested in self-government units. This article elaborates on trust in an authority, including a local authority. The most important part of the study is an attempt to assess the level of confidence in self-government in Poland. This confidence was measured in three ways: by analysing the results of public opinion polls, by investigating the turnouts in local elections, and by examining the credit ratings received by local government units. Each of the tests showed a systematic increase in confidence since the restoration of self-government in Poland in 1990

Sovereign Wealth Funds in Central and Eastern Europe: Scope and Methods of Financial Penetration

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) capital markets (of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine and, to a limited extent, Belarus) are gradually evolving towards increased breadth (diversity) and depth (liquidity), however, they are still exposed to considerable cross-country volatility and interdependence spill-overs – especially in times of capital flight to more established asset classes (“safe havens”). Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have widely been censured for their undesirable political interference and chronic operational opacity. This paper demonstrates that in CEE, contrary to widespread perceptions attributable to developed markets, SWFs can act as natural and powerful risk mitigators (contributing to a more stable capital base and reduced systemic volatility). Such a proposition is premised on several factors specific to SWFs oriented to CEE. They comprise: strategic long-termism and patience in overcoming interim pricing deficiencies, commitments to elements of a broadly interpreted infrastructure, and absence of overt conflicts of interest with the CEE host economies. The paper, besides reviewing the utilitarianism of SWFs in the CEE’s risk mitigation context, highlights regulatory and technical barriers to more SWF funding for CEE. It also recommends policy measures to the CEE economies aimed at luring more host-friendly SWF investment into the region

Green bonds as an innovative sovereign financial instrument

Motivation: There is a growing awareness of the impact that climate change is having on the world economy and the standards of living. Green bonds (GBs) are relatively new and innovative instruments on the financial market where the capitals are also invested in projects that generate environmental or climate benefits. The newness of this financial instrument could be the main reason behind the scarcity of scientific publications on green bonds; thus, it remains an undeveloped research area. One of the problems is also classifying securities as GBs. Therefore, it is exceedingly important to distinguish labelled green bonds and unlabelled climate-aligned bonds.Aim: In the article, the authors will present the evolution of the green bonds market and attempt to assess the observed and potential effects of green bonds’ issuances, taking into account governments issues.Results: Green bonds are the next stage of market growth. In the article, the authors will present the benefits of green bonds and the positive impact that their issuance has on the issuer and on investors’ image as socially responsible entities. Therefore, strong investor demand can lead to oversubscription. Thus, green bonds could be one of the easiest ways to attract investors and potentially increase issuance size which can contribute to lower costs of financing green public tasks

Development Impact Bonds in Financing Flood Risk Management

In this paper, the authors propose a new innovative solution to financing flood prevention and financing its consequences using the development impact bonds model. Firstly, the necessity of financing the flood problem is to be described as a public task, including the presentation of previous methods and solutions. Secondly, the authors derive a new model for financing flood problems basing on development impact bonds. This kind of financing comes from the New Public Management idea called “payments-by-results”. The new model shows that there is a possibility to construct a financial mechanism, which allows financing anti-flood interventions, such as relocation of residents from flood-threatened areas, using private financial resources, and giving the government the guarantee to pay only for the success of the intervention, which means a guarantee of effective public spending. At the end of the paper a SWOT analysis into this solution is presented.JEL Codes - G22; G23; H40; H54; H70; H84; Q5

Innovative bonds in financing public tasks

The realization of public tasks often requires debt fundraising. Basically, bonds are the main type of debt instruments used by the public sector. However, a high level of public debt and its permanent increase over the past few years force public managers to seek new solutions, other than debt creation, to finance public tasks. The main goal of this paper is to present and discuss new, innovative solutions on the construction of bonds in the light of financing public tasks by means of this very instrumen

Przerzucalność podatku bankowego w Polsce – próba oceny skali zjawiska

In this paper the author attempts to investigate the phenomenon of shifting the tax burden from a formal taxpayer to the real one in the case of the tax on some financial institutions, introduced in Poland in February 2016. The new tax is generally levied on the banking sector. Therefore, firstly, the analysis of the impact of the new burden on the financial situation of banks has been analyzed. The deterioration of banks’ situation triggers the tax shifting phenomenon, so secondly, an attempt to assess the scale of bank tax shifting “forward” and “backward” has been made.W niniejszym artykule podjęto próbę zbadania zjawiska przerzucania obciążeń podatkowych z podatnika formalnego na rzeczywistego w przypadku wprowadzonego w Polsce w lutym 2016 r. podatku od niektórych instytucji finansowych. Z uwagi na fakt, że nowa danina publiczna obciąża przede wszystkim sektor bankowy, dokonano na wstępie analizy wpływu nowego podatku na sytuację finansową banków, której pogorszenie uruchamia badane zjawisko. Następnie podjęto próbę oceny skali przerzucania obciążeń podatkowych banków „w przód” i „w tył”

Analysis of Compliance with WCAG Guidelines Regarding Contrast Im-plementation in an E-Learning Quiz

In the process of distance learning, modern information and educational solutions are increasingly employed. The introduction of tools facilitating compliance with WCAG guidelines to course creators, enhances content accessibility for individuals with disabilities, eliminating barriers to education access. This aligns with the concept of universal design, aiming to create courses and instructional materials accessible to a broad audience, regardless of individual needs, abilities or conditions. While this is a standard in web design, it is often overlooked in distance learning and course de-sign. This paper focuses on analyzing the correctness of implementing a component allowing the assessment of WCAG compliance in designed quizzes using an exercise creator. The implementation was based on the Quizer e-learning plat-form. Quizzes in the field of cybersecurity were designed to meet contrast guidelines according to the WCAG 2.1 stand-ard, followed by user testing. The research results confirmed the correctness of the applied solutions and emphasized the necessity of designing IT tools considering potential disabilities of future users of e-learning quizzes

Variability of the azygos vein system in human foetuses

The aim of the study was to examine the variability of the azygos vein system and to determine the location of the veins with reference to the vertebral midline and the skeletopy of their termination. The research material consisted of 32 human foetuses (14 male, 18 female) from 21st to 24th week of intrauterine life, fixed in 10% neutral formalin solution. Conventional anatomical - radiographic methods were used. 5 different configurations of the azygos vein system were found. In the 1st configuration there were 3 azygos veins, with both the left side veins, the hemiazygos vein (HV) and the hemiazygos accessory vein (HAV), joining the azygos vein (AV) separately. In the 2nd configuration the HV and the HAV were joined to the AV together. In the 3rd configuration the HAV was missing, and the 4th to 8th left intercostal veins were joined to the AV separately. In the 4th configuration the HV was missing. In the 5th configuration there was the AV only, which coursed along the vertebral midline. In these 4 configurations (1–4) the AV was located on the right side (90.6%) and in the 5th configuration the AV was located in the vertebral midline. The termination of the AV projected mostly on Th4 (81.25%). The junction of the HV and the AV was found the most frequently at Th8 (35.7%), and the junction of the HAV and AV most frequently at Th4 (41.6%)

The internal thoracic artery in human foetuses

The aim of this study was to examine the internal thoracic artery (ITA) in human foetuses. The research material consisted of 32 human foetuses (18 female, 14 male) from the 21st to 24th week of intrauterine life. After intravascular injection with white latex LBS 3060, the foetuses were fixed in 10% neutral formalin solution. The whole course of the ITA was prepared. Photographic documentation was performed with a Nikon Coolpix 4500 digital camera, and source pictures of arteries were rendered in a Digital Computer System Analysis. The ITA was evaluated with regard to its origin, length, distance from the edge of the sternum to two intercostal spaces (2nd, 5th) and division into terminal branches. The right ITA (RITA) arose from the ascending (68.7%), arcuate (21.9%) and descending (3.2%) parts of the subclavian artery. In other cases (6.2%) it was a branch of the thyrocervical trunk. The left ITA (LITA) was a branch of the ascending (78.1%) and arcuate (21.9%) parts of the subclavian artery. The ITA was longer in male foetuses. Regardless of sex, the LITA was longer than the RITA. Coefficient correlation between the RITA and LITA was 0.92 (p < 0.001). The distance of the ITA from the edge of sternum in the 2nd and 5th intercostal spaces on both sides was greater in females. It appeared most frequently in the 6th space (43.7% right-sided and 56.3% left-sided). Typical bifurcation of the ITA into the superior epigastric artery and the musculophrenic artery was observed in 78.1% of cases on the right side and in 81.25% of cases on the left side