The Polish bank’s focus remains with capital protection products linked to equities.

Santander Bank Polska was the number one distributor in Poland during 2025, capturing a 22% share of the market. The bank distributed 34 structured products worth an estimated PLN1.2 billion (US$320m) – an increase of 10% by sales volume compared to the previous year when 35 products collected PLN1.1 billion.

When preparing our offer, we consider our clients’ preferences as well as the current market environment - Monika Pawlak

Last year’s products were issued via a variety of providers, including Natixis (nine products), Crédit Agricole CIB (six), Goldman Sachs (five), Citi (four), Morgan Stanley and Société Générale (one each) while eight products were issued on the paper of Santander International Products.

Considering the significant cuts of PLN interest rates and high growth of the local equity market, maintaining sales volumes at levels comparable to the previous year turned out to be a challenge, according to Monika Pawlak (pictured), structured products manager at Santander Bank Polska.

“However, [our] carefully selected offer aligned with clients’ needs and professionalism of our advisors enabled us to maintain satisfactory sales levels,” Pawlak told SRP.

Filip Zakościelny and Monika Pawlak of Santander Bank Polska at the SRP Europe Awards in London on 17 March.

Santander’s clients mostly prefer basket of shares or single stocks as underlying assets, which is reflected in the bank’s 2025 offering which included 29 products linked to the former and a further five tied to a single share.

The shares of Alphabet, Denso, ING Group, Rheinmetall, Siemens and Zalando, seen in three products each, were the most frequently used.

“When preparing our offer, we consider our clients’ preferences as well as the current market environment. The complexity of our products is aligned with clients’ knowledge and experience, while our team of experienced investment advisors selects the shares as well as broader investment themes,” said Pawlak.

Capital protection

All products distributed by the bank in 2025 are 100% capital protected, resulting from the fact that structured products in Santander Bank Polska were offered mainly to Private Banking clients, primarily seeking capital protection.

“Clients usually choose non‑capital‑protected products with higher return potential in cases when capital‑protected options do not offer appealing yields,” said Pawlak.

“At the beginning of 2025, the main PLN reference rate stood at 5.75%, which was sufficient to offer attractive products with full capital protection. Now, after several rates cuts, the situation has changed and we observe some shift in the market towards products with an embedded protection barrier,” she added.

In 2025, the most popular payout structure specific to Santander was the ‘Split Payment Note’, where 50% of the notional is redeemed after six months together with a fixed coupon with the remaining 50% invested in a four-year capital protected autocall linked to a basket of three stocks.

Eleven such products, worth a combined PLN590m, struck during the year, including Obligacje typu Split Payment z Ochroną Kapitału z Opcją Autocall, which with sales of just under PLN100m was the bank’s top seller in 2025.

The four-year product was issued via Citi and linked to a basket comprising three stocks from the banking sector: HSBC, ING Group and Nordea Bank. It returns four percent after six months whilst at maturity the potential maximum return on the equity investment equals 132%.

“It was the best-selling product type, which combined very attractive fixed income part as compared to deposits or bonds available on the Polish market and investment part in the form of capital protected autocall, representing interesting investment themes,” said Pawlak.

Outlook

Monika Pawlak: Poland enters 2026 with solid macroeconomic fundamentals, supported by EU‑funded investments and robust private consumption. Such a macro backdrop should support continued demand for yield‑enhanced and capital‑protected structured solutions.

Key investment topics should include Infrastructure & Defense and Digitalisation & AI, which is considered the most transformative innovation. Exposure to consumer‑driven growth may be considered, given that relatively low unemployment and rising wages support sustained household demand.

For some investors, European retail indices or a basket of selected stocks may prove to be an attractive proposition. A volatile global trade backdrop could be a major headwind for Poland’s outlook. Given the heightened volatility for global equity baskets, a more conservative barrier and protection calibration may be required. Monetary easing is expected but likely gradual, given fiscal and energy‑price uncertainties.

Santander Bank Polska has been recognised with the awards for 'Best Distributor, CEE' and 'Best Distributor, Poland' at SRP Europe 2026. Click the link to view the full list of winners.

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