It will have been 20 years on 7 November 2014 since Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartościowych (KDPW, the Central Securities Depository of Poland) was established as a stand-alone company with a mission of ensuring safe trading on the capital market. KDPW is responsible for the clearing and settlement of trade on organised and OTC markets. In the last 20 years, KDPW has settled more than 201 million trades worth PLN 86 trillion (which is over 30 times more than this year’s government revenue target).
KDPW creates the KDPW Group of companies which offer a complementary package of clearing, corporate actions, settlement, data collection, and numbering agency services. The Group is comprised of two companies: the central securities depository (CSD) KDPW and the clearing house KDPW_CCP. KDPW operates the Trade Repository KDPW_TR.
“In the last two decades, even at the time of the deep crisis following 2008, the Polish capital market has suffered no events which would undermine the safety and quality of its post-trade infrastructure. This is the best test for the performance of KDPW,” said Iwona Sroka, CEO & President of KDPW.
The main functions of KDPW as a central securities depository include: registration and safe-keeping of financial instruments in depository accounts; settlement of trade on regulated and OTC markets; services for issuers (including mediation in the payment of dividends to shareholders, assimilation, exchange, conversion and split of shares). KDPW operates the Trade Repository KDPW_TR and is the only institution in Poland and one of few institutions in Europe to offer such a broad range of numbering services for financial market entities and instruments including ISIN, CFI, FISN, and LEI.
Another important function of KDPW is to manage the Compensation Scheme founded to protect investors’ assets and cash in the event of broker default. KDPW also manages the Guarantee Fund created with contributions paid in by pension funds.
KDPW also acts as an Agent in the securities lending system and provides settlement and collateral management for repo transactions.
Services for the market
The KDPW Group has for years pursued a strategy of developing a complete range of post-trade services in Poland.
“All projects implemented by the KDPW Group are aimed to strengthen the position of the Polish financial market in Europe and to support the potential of local investment firms, banks, and other entities. We provide a complete offer of post-trade services. We want to be the institution of first choice for market participants, both local and international, so that they do not have to look for any solutions abroad,” said Iwona Sroka, CEO & President of KDPW.
The spin-off of the clearing house KDPW_CCP in 2011 was a milestone on the Polish financial market. As a result, the Polish market not only complies with the international standards for central securities depositories and clearing houses (which require the separation of risks generated by both entities) but has also opened up to new categories of clients. Foreign companies are now allowed to obtain the status of clearing member of the clearing house, which was not possible under the former regulations.
The next step in building the position of the KDPW Group came with the EU authorisation of the clearing house which also provides the OTC derivatives and repo clearing and guarantee service (OTC_CLEARING) since December 2012 when it opened to a new segment: the banking sector. Since November 2012, KDPW offers the Trade Repository service (KDPW_TR) and issues LEI codes required in reporting. “KDPW was one of the first four institutions in Europe to be registered as a trade repository. Only six trade repositories are now operational in the EU,” said Iwona Sroka.