The energy security of each country is one of the main factors of its proper functioning. Currently, in the era of problems related to energy security resulting from, among other things, the war in Ukraine, this topic is particularly important. This article presents issues related to Poland’s energy security, understood as the financial and economic stability of enterprises operating in the energy industry. This stability is considered in two aspects: macroeconomic, where the focus is mainly on the aspect of state intervention in market processes; and microeconomic, where factors determining the financial security of energy enterprises were identified, including internal and external factors affecting the functioning of these entities. In order to achieve the assumed research goals, the analysis of the indicated problems was based on non-reactive research, consisting in the assessment of the available information. It included studies of normative acts, official statistical data, industry reports and analyses, as well as data obtained in the form of a public information request. Two basic research methods were used in the work—dogmatic–legal and comparative analyses. The identification of factors affecting the security of companies in the sector was carried out on the basis of data on the entire energy sector in Poland for the years 2015–2021 on a semi-annual basis. Vector-autoregressive models were used for the analysis. As a result of the analyses, it was established that market failures and public safety are the premises justifying the public financing of enterprises in the electricity generation, transmission, distribution and trade sectors. At the same time, the conducted research showed that the level of financial security of energy enterprises in Poland was affected by the ratio of the value of goods and materials sold to net sales revenue, as well as the level of EBIT (earnings before deducting interest and taxes) margin, and among external factors, the level of GDP (gross domestic product), CPI (consumer price index) and Crude Oil were important.

Prediction insolvency is one of the most important issues during creditworthiness assessment, especially in the turmoil environment. That is why the problem of insolvency and bankruptcy prediction has been the subject of numerous studies focused on its causes, consequences, and prediction. The main goal of the study was to develop a prediction model that can be effectively used in practice to analyze and signal the risk of insolvency and bankruptcy of a construction firms. Also, the research must identify the key factors that would allow for early identification of the symptoms of the upcoming financial failure of companies from a construction sector. To reach the goal of the study discriminant analysis, logistic regression and classification trees were used. The final estimated models included nine variables related to the profitability; revenues; liquidity; asset’s structure; and dynamics of own and foreign capitals, some of which referred to the industry and market situation in a construct sector, which is a novelty compared to previous research. What is more, results show that the method chosen to estimate the insolvency prediction model could have an impact on both partial and general effectiveness in the process of creditworthiness assessment.

The aim of the article was to identify the key factors influencing the increase in the risk of bankruptcy of companies from wholesale food industry in Poland. In addition, the research aimed to identifying the most effective method of forecasting the risk of bankruptcy of enterprises in the examined industry in the context of risk management in banks. The research showed that three key indicators determining the financial situation of the enterprise were the key for the analyzed industry: ratio of own equity and the revenue from sale; difference between the quick liquidity indicator for the industry and for the company and dynamics of company’s short term liabilities. These variables point to the areas of activity of companies from wholesale food industry, to which banks should pay special attention during the credit risk assessment process.

This research concentrated on the socio-financial qualities of Poland’s co-op banking. The study’s results enabled answering the question of whether the cooperative banks (co-op banks) are exclusively focused on maximum financial effectiveness or faithful to the idea of cooperation, which basically means supporting its membership and community development. The main objective of the study was to determine the influence of internal factors on initiated support to the community within the framework defining the activities pertaining to a business’s social responsibility, as seen for Poland’s co-op banks. A seven-year study period was adopted, i.e., 2011–2017, inclusive. The research indicated that the co-op banks decide about a sum of contributions for community initiatives based on their current condition—according to current profits, current credits volume, total accounts number and considering financial security as expressed by the level of the solvency coefficient of the previous year.

As the global economy undergoes rapid digital transformation, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a prominent alternative class of financial assets. Their decentralized nature, pseudonymity, and lack of centralized oversight have attracted considerable interest among investors while simultaneously raising significant concerns among regulators and compliance professionals. While cryptocurrencies offer benefits such as enhanced accessibility and transactional privacy, they also pose notable risks, particularly their potential misuse in financial crimes, including money laundering. This study explores the perceived risks associated with cryptocurrencies in the context of money laundering, drawing on insights from a survey conducted among 50 financial sector professionals. A quantitative research design was employed, using a structured online questionnaire to assess participants’ awareness, investment behavior, and perceptions of the role of cryptocurrencies in illicit finance and financial system security. The results reveal a complex perspective: while 70% of respondents acknowledged the potential for cryptocurrencies to facilitate money laundering, 60% expressed support for their wider adoption. Notably, statistically significant correlations emerged between active investment in cryptocurrencies and the belief that they could enhance financial market security and reduce laundering risks. However, self-reported knowledge levels and general awareness did not show a significant relationship with perceived risk. The findings underscore the importance of a balanced approach to regulation, one that fosters innovation while mitigating illicit finance risks. The study recommends increased investment in user education, the development of blockchain analytics, the adoption of global regulatory standards and enhanced international cooperation to ensure the responsible evolution of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The main aim of the research was to determine the key factors determining the level of credit risk of individual clients (clients in the form of natural persons, excluding companies) on the example of Polish cooperative banks according to the following features: transaction characteristics, socio-demographic characteristics of the customer, the customer’s financial situation, the customer’s history of cooperation with the cooperative bank where they applied for a loan, and the customer’s history of cooperation with other financial institutions. For the research gathered data from 1000 credit applications submitted by individual customers when applying for a credit in five different cooperative banks were used for the analyses. To assess the credit risk of retail clients we use logit regression models, and additionally, score cards were calculated. The results of the research indicate that among the factors with high predictive power there were the features characterizing the client’s history of cooperation with the cooperative bank, where they applied for a loan. It may mean that when assessing credit risk related to financing individual customers, cooperative banks due to their local character, have an advantage over other financial institutions.