What a bank counts as a farmer's income
KRUS income (sickness allowance, disability pension, farmer's old-age pension). Direct subsidies from ARiMR (the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture) — paid to the account once a year, but counted as stable. VAT RR invoices from a buying-up point for farm produce (milk, grain, fruit, meat). Contract-farming agreements with processing plants. Each element carries a different weight in scoring.
Banks specialising in agriculture
BGŻ BNP Paribas (formerly Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej) has the widest offer for farmers — working-capital, investment, agricultural mortgage loans. PKO BP runs a dedicated business account for farms and a working-capital loan up to 100 000 PLN. Pekao SA serves larger farms with investment loans up to 500 000 PLN. mBank and Alior — more digital, but for a farmer typically a plain cash loan rather than a specialist product.
The effect of EU subsidies on creditworthiness
A farmer with an active direct-subsidy application boosts creditworthiness — the bank knows that a known sum lands on the account in September or October (average 1 500-3 500 PLN per hectare in 2026). Required: an ARiMR certificate of applications from the last 3 years. That certificate generates online in eWniosekPlus.
Investment loan for a farmer
For machinery, buildings, land — an investment loan with an ARiMR subsidy. Effective RRSO 2-5% (after subsidies), term up to 15 years, amount even 4 million PLN. Required: business plan, investment cost estimate, KRUS entry as a farmer. Procedure long (3-6 months), but the cheapest loan on the Polish market if you qualify for the subsidy.
My take: how a farmer should approach a bank
Gather in one file: KRUS certificate, ARiMR subsidy decisions from 3 years, VAT RR invoices from the last 6 months. Go first to BGŻ BNP Paribas or PKO BP — specialist banks understand irregular inflows. Digital banks (mBank, ING) treat a farmer like any self-employed person, which usually means refusal without an annual PIT. A specialist agricultural bank sees the full picture.