The Act on Mortgage Banks and Mortgage Bonds was passed in Poland on 29th August 1997. It laid foundations for the establishment of first mortgage banks in Poland's post-war history as specialised institutions issuing securities named mortgage bonds. It shall be remembered that the legal solutions were based on the best experience of Germany, where the system of mortgage banks has been successfully operating for already over 100 years. Unfortunately, a stable legal basis does not guarantee the best development of the system. Obstacles of economic and legal nature continue to restrain substantially the resuscitation of this branch of banking, after its more than 60-year long absence.

A poorly developed building industry, showing low efficiency for years, continues to be the basic problem. This situation may be changed by the introduction of instruments stimulating the market development, inter alia a system of preference loans and guarantees granted by the government, stimulation of demand by creation of appropriate legislation and employment of higher capital in the sector. The financing of building projects by mortgage loans is also poorly developed. While in highly developed countries on average 50% of housing investment projects are financed by bank loans, in Poland this share does not exceed 17%. This stems from a number of reasons: relatively high price of apartments as compared with average income of a statistical Pole, a high level of real interest rates, unfavourable fiscal solutions, and legal barriers. The latter result from gross inefficiency of Polish land and mortgage register system and still poor effectiveness of a mortgage as security. Despite the fact that it is the basic, in fact the only, security that may be used by mortgage banks, Art. 1025 of the Code of Civil Procedures ranks the possibility of satisfying claims by mortgage banks only as the fourth.

Overcoming of numerous barriers seems to be an indispensable condition for the development of mortgage banks system in Poland. According to the assumptions six or seven mortgage banks should operate by the end of 2006, with 20% to 30% share in the mortgage loans market. However, the possibility of plans execution depends largely on the quality, nature and intensity of carried out changes.