The article is an attempt at systematizing the knowledge about leasing, a relatively new financial instrument, which since 2002 has been gradually gaining the acknowledgement of the market. It was launched in the turbulent context. The initial lack of systemic regulations resulted in great freedom of interpretation of the imperfect law, which had consequences difficult to anticipate. The principle of economic freedom allowed the possibility of running an enterprise providing leasing services by entities with limited financial base. These factors led to differing interpretations of the history of leasing services in different groups.

In view of the above discussed context it seems worthwhile to present the current achievements of the branch, which in the recent years has undergone quite a radical change. It welcomed general legal regulations, which provided a legal framework for leasing contracts. The market has been ordered from the perspective of service providers, usually linked to the financial sector.

The first part of the article presents the currently effective legal provisions regulating the functioning of leasing and its principles. The main features of leasing are presented, showing both its tax and balance sheet consequences. Afterwards, a comparison of leasing with credit is made, which highlights the characteristic traits of leasing and the reasons behind the high popularity of this product among small and medium sized enterprises.

In order to illustrate the significance of leasing for the economy, a presentation is made of the leasing market development in Europe and in Poland. The article also describes the structure of leasing, potential directions of development and main barriers for the development of the most important types of leasing transactions.