Lending in Poland fell for the first time in almost a year in February, the first month banks had to pay a tax on their assets, Bloomberg reported. “Deceleration of the lending action is a result of the additional tax the industry has to pay,” according to Rafal Sadoch, chief economist at Noble Option. The government introduced the new tax of 0.44% of lenders’ assets, including loans, as of last month. The tax is expected to bring a total 4.4 billion zloty ($1.1 billion) to the state budget this year.
