Amendments of the KDPW Rules taking effect as of 16 April 2012 allow Participants of the National Depository to operate omnibus accounts. The introduction of omnibus accounts opens the Polish market to new investors and consequently offers the chance to increase the inflow of foreign capital.
Omnibus accounts are accounts operated by participants of the depository system to record securities which are not held by the official account holders. An amendment of the Act on Trading in Financial Instruments has allowed to introduce this solution in the Polish depository system operated by KDPW.
From the perspective of foreign investors, previous solutions that existed in the Polish financial system and required a foreign investor to hold a separate account opened especially for the Polish market were expensive and complex.
“Despite the financial crisis which has prevailed for many months, the Polish capital market continues to grow and attract foreign investors, whose turnover has increased significantly. As long as omnibus accounts were not available, there was a mounting barrier to further growth of the Polish capital market, which over the past years has moved from the position of a local market to that of a regional financial hub,” said KDPW CEO Iwona Sroka.
Together with depository accounts (operated at National Depository level) and securities accounts (operated by KDPW Participants), omnibus accounts are a third registration tool available in the securities depository. They differ from securities accounts in that they do not allow to identify the holders of rights attached to securities recorded in the account; they differ from depository accounts in that they are not linked to securities accounts.
KDPW is currently working on the option of offering omnibus accounts operated by the National Depository (as opposed to KDPW Participants).
Omnibus accounts are used in many countries in the EU and all around the world including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, as well as outside the EU, among others in Switzerland and the USA.
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Omnibus Accounts Operated By KDPW Participants Available As Of 16 April
Date 16/04/2012