The Banking Sector in the Service of the Communist Authorities (1944–1949)

Abstract

In banking, unlike in industry, the Communist authorities withdrew from programmatic nationalization, and instead decided to liquidate private credit institutions. They considered that this would allow them to achieve control over the banking system without having to pay compensation to foreign capital, which was strongly present in Poland. Their belief was reinforced by the existence, already in the inter-war period, of a large group of state-owned banks (e.g., Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), Państwowy Bank Rolny (PBR), Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności (PKO)), which was strengthened by the establishment of Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP) as the country’s central bank in 1945. Another significant element was the subordination of numerous co-operative banks and credit unions to the state. In consequence, by 1949, the Communist authorities had taken complete possession of the banking sector and rebuilt it along the Soviet pattern, in line with the requirements of the centrally planned economy.