Saturday, 1 November 2025
Poland’s credit market recorded strong growth in September 2025, driven by a surge in mortgage and cash loans, according to the latest data from Biuro Informacji Kredytowej (BIK). The increase comes amid improving creditworthiness, lower interest rates, and steady household income growth.
Compared with September 2024, banks and credit unions issued 52.4% more housing loans and 18.8% more cash loans, while installment lending and credit card issuance both declined slightly. In value terms, the market saw an even sharper rise — housing loan volumes climbed 62.8%, cash loans 21.3%, and credit cards 5.1%. Installment loans were the only category to show a modest contraction of 0.6% year-on-year.
The value of new housing loans reached PLN 10.67 billion in September, setting a historic monthly record and surpassing the previous peak from January 2024, during the “Safe Credit 2%” programme. The average mortgage size rose 6.8% year-on-year to PLN 448,900, reflecting higher property values and increased borrower capacity.
According to Prof. Waldemar Rogowski, BIK’s chief analyst, the record results reflect the impact of lower interest rates and rising real wages on household creditworthiness. “These favourable conditions could continue to stimulate demand, although a rise in uncertainty or global volatility could weaken momentum,” he said.
The number and value of cash loans continued to expand sharply, supported by larger loan sizes and greater consumer confidence. The average cash loan amounted to PLN 26,379, up 2.1% from a year earlier. Prof. Rogowski noted that borrowers are increasingly opting for higher-value loans above PLN 50,000, helped by extended repayment periods and reduced borrowing costs. Between January and September, the total value of cash loans exceeded PLN 90 billion, raising expectations for a record annual total.
Installment loans, however, showed persistent weakness. BIK reported an 8.9% year-on-year drop in the number of such loans in September and a 7.1% decline in their total value for the first nine months of the year. Rogowski attributed this to a contraction in low-value retail financing and the transfer of some deferred payment (BNPL) liabilities from non-bank firms into bank portfolios.
Despite a slight month-to-month weakening in repayment indicators, BIK’s Quality Indexes remained at safe levels across all loan types, with improvements year-on-year for housing and cash loans. “Credit risk remains low, and further interest rate reductions and rising wages are likely to support stability,” Rogowski said.
The September results highlight the contrast between a rapidly expanding mortgage and consumer credit sector and a more subdued retail-finance market. Analysts suggest that if macroeconomic conditions remain stable, Poland could close 2025 with one of its strongest lending performances in recent years.
Source: Biuro Informacji Kredytowej (BIK) – Newsletter kredytowy Wrzesień 2025, published 29 October 2025.
