Cooperative Banks Development in Poland - the Determinants of the Process

Deep structural and organisational transformation of the Cooperative Banking System is generated by the necessity of adapting this sector to the market economy and especially to the EU standards. The aim of this article is to describe factors determining development of the Polish cooperative banks in their environment. The analysis confirms that the restructuring process has improved financial condition of banks and increased their efficiency. Furthermore, the restructuring process has helped to create economically sound and organisationally efficient, solid and more reliable cooperative banking sector.