Polish banks' competition strategies ‒ selected aspects

Abstract

The paper addresses problems connected with the choice of the competition strategy by Polish banks. The first part of the paper presents theoretical prerequisites of the competition strategy choice depending on different criteria and conditions. The second part deals with the situation of Polish banks envisaging accession of Poland to the European Union (it is connected with the appearance of foreign banks on the Polish market of financial services) and describes their weaknesses and competitive advantages. The third part is devoted to the Polish banks' price competition analysis. It is based on results of the empirical research. The conclusion included in the final part of the paper suggests that the price is not a crucial element in the fight for a client. First of all credibility and availability count. Existence of stable comparative advantages is a condition of the efficient competition strategy. In the bank sector stable advantages are leading costs position and well-developed distribution network. According to the research and the practice the price is only a temporary advantage stemming from the lack of leading costs position of Polish banks.