Robert Sochacki: O propozycjach dla JST oraz dla inwestorów

I think it's realistic. The investment horizon of local governments is often multi-decadal, and if we can find investors willing to take on such instruments, this kind of financing is already possible today. In more developed economies, such financing already exists — they issue bonds for periods of several decades. It has its pros and cons, but when the investment horizon can align with the financing horizon, it seems like a very rational approach. It's worth sitting down and discussing whether such financing can be structured in a way that's attractive also to those who would eventually purchase these securities. The capital market is a good place for this discussion, where the interests of many investors, issuers, and market participants converge. The question is about the terms, the security, what the funds are used for, and who the buyers are. In the case of local government issuers, where there are people interested in a specific investment, it's quite possible that local residents would also want to finance investments they can use for years to come. Now there's growing awareness of the need to save and invest for retirement, and for long-term saving and investing in general, which aligns well with promoting long-term investments. For example, IKE and IKZE retirement accounts are already gaining popularity, and the capital market IKZE accounts run by brokerage houses are the fastest-growing instruments of this type. Investors want to open these instruments and buy primarily equities into them, but long-term bonds would be an excellent complement to these investments. I believe local governments are credible bond issuers because they essentially cannot go bankrupt, much like states. Of course, various things can happen — banks and states can also go bankrupt. Investors are accustomed to the fact that this entails some risk, but they receive compensation for that risk, and proper diversification of such an investment portfolio means that even if something goes wrong, investors are protected through diversification and proper analysis of instruments purchased for the portfolio. So I think it's important not to do anything without reflection and consideration, both from the issuer's side and the investor's side. However, the capital market handles such matters well, and I believe it will also handle long-term emissions from local government units. The only real limitation so far has been that investors were primarily seeking short-term investments. But we're becoming a more normal market regarding interest rates — it's no longer just about falling rates or fighting inflation alone. We have periods of low inflation, then it may rise for various reasons, interest rates go up, then they come down. The central bank's credibility is built through decisions. So I think we're becoming an increasingly standard economy in this area, and I think it's time for investors to also look at long-term investments. Just as fixed-rate mortgages didn't exist before and are now very popular, I think investor preferences will also change, and I would be in favor of at least testing these types of instruments.