Comparative analysis of the conditions of banking operation inside and outside the euro area: the examples of Poland and Spain

The 21st century has brought new challenges and new demands. Its financial crises have revealed the scale of the challenges facing the supervisory institutions responsible for the stability of the European banking sector. There are important questions to be answered: what have we learned from the lesson of the financial crises? Are we now better prepared for potential problems in the banking sectors of united Europe’s individual states? It might be, that we have learned little, as the fundamental problems at the root of the crises remain unsolved. The minimum lesson we should all learn from the latest crises is the necessity to abide by the fundamental principles of economics. Firstly, credits should not be granted to people without jobs and income. Secondly, there is no such thing as risk-free investment, contrary to the opinion about investment in government securities before the latest crisis (the example of Greece emphatically questioned that conviction). Thirdly, econometric models built on premises which are unfounded in reality must not be followed unreservedly. And, finally, there are issues which have not been entirely verified by experience, such as the question whether it is possible to print vast amounts of money without affecting the real-life economy? There are few publications discussing the above matters in the European publishing market. Importantly, the authors do not merely present the existing situation in the banking sectors, but they undertake a more ambitious task of presenting their thoughts and conclusions concerning the matter. This book should be met with great interest of the Academia, including lecturers and students, as well as of people working within the banking sector.