.jpg)
Almost 1400 issues of financial instruments registered at the end of October 2009 – shares, bonds, investment certificates, mortgage bonds, derivatives; 102 million transactions cleared and settled in the regulated and non-regulated markets with a value of PLN 34 billion – this is just a short overview of 15 years of operations of the National Depository for Securities (KDPW), one of the most important institutions operating in the Polish capital market.
Since 7 November 1994, KDPW has been operating as a separate company and is now celebrating its 15th anniversary. Previously, starting in 1991, it was part of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The main responsibilities of KDPW are the clearing and settlement of transactions executed in the regulated and non-regulated markets, as well as maintaining a securities depository. KDPW manages depository and securities accounts for participants of the depository-settlement system on which securities are registered in dematerialised (book entry) form.
Thousands, millions, billions…
The capitalisation of financial instruments registered on accounts in KDPW currently totals PLN 751 billion – this is the second highest figure in its history. In terms of capitalisation of financial instruments held in safekeeping at the end of each year, this figure was only higher at the end of 2007 and totalled PLN 847 billion.
Graph 1. Capitalisation of financial instruments held in safekeeping in KDPW (PLN billions)*
 |
The turnover cleared in the secondary market over the past 15 years has exceeded PLN 66 billion – a figure comparable to over 200 times the current Polish budget. During the record year 2007, the turnover of cleared transactions totalled over PLN 14.2 billion, while the figure at the end of October 2009 stood at PLN 8 billion.
Graph 2. Turnover cleared by KDPW in the secondary market (PLN billions)*
 |
Source: KDPW; data for 2009 as end of October
102 million transactions – single counted – were cleared in KDPW over the past 15 years. Over the first 10 months of 2009, there were already over 15 million transactions cleared – one of the best results in the history of KDPW.
Graph 3. Number of transactions cleared (single count) – in millions of transactions*
 |
Source: KDPW; data for 2009 as end of October
Currently there are 72 entities acting as direct KDPW participants – banks and brokerage houses – for which KDPW manages depository or securities accounts. The entities holding depository accounts in turn manage securities accounts for their clients. At the end of September 2009, KDPW participants managed over 1.1 million securities accounts.
Issuers form another significant group of KDPW participants – at the end of October 2009, these totalled 574, including 36 foreign issuers.
Graph 4. Number of issuers and direct KDPW participants*
 |
Source: KDPW; data for 2009 as end of October
There were almost 1400 issues of financial instruments registered in KDPW at the end of October 2009. These include share issues (Polish and foreign issuers), various types of bonds (corporate, Treasury, municipal, and others), investment certificates, mortgage bonds, as well as futures and options. The number of financial instruments registered in KDPW steadily grows each year.
Graph 5. Number of financial instrument issues registered in KDPW*
 |
Source: KDPW; data for 2009 as end of October
Found management
The value of the assets of funds managed by KDPW totalled over PLN 1.1 billion at the end of October 2009. These are the assets of the Settlement Guarantee Fund; the Guarantee Fund Securing the Clearing of Transactions Executed in the Alternative Trading System organised by the Warsaw Stock Exchange; the Investor Compensation Scheme; and the Pension Guarantee Fund.
One of the most important responsibilities of KDPW is the management of the Settlement Guarantee Fund, which is made up of contributions paid in by its participants. Its purpose is to ensure settlement performance in the event of a shortage of assets on the participant’s account necessary to carry out transaction settlement. The Settlement Guarantee Fund consist of:- The Settlement Guarantee Fund for the Settlement of Stock Exchange Transactions,
- The Settlement Guarantee Fund for the Settlement of BondSpot (formerly CeTO) Transactions,
- The Settlement Guarantee Fund for the Settlement of Stock Exchange Derivative Transactions.
The value of the assets in the Settlement Guarantee Fund currently totals PLN 258 million.
KDPW manages the Investor Compensation Scheme, created in order to guarantee the cash and securities on the accounts of investors in the event of the insolvency of a custodian bank or brokerage house managing securities accounts. The Investor Compensation Scheme currently holds assets worth PLN 76.5 million.
KDPW processes transfer payments between open-ended pension funds, following a change of fund by a fund participant, or a division of the assets of the participant. KDPW also manages the mandatory Pension Guarantee Fund, made up of contributions paid in by Pension Fund Management Corporations, which guarantees pension payments to fund participants. The value of the Pension Guarantee Fund totals over PLN 168 million.
International relations
KDPW has direct operational links with the following foreign central securities depositories:- Oesterreichische Kontrollbank – OeKB
- Clearstream Banking Luxembourg – CBL
- Központi Elszámölház és Értéktár Rt.– KELER
- Centralny Depozitar Cennych Papierov SR A.S. – CDCP
- Euroclear Bank
- As Eesti Väärtpaberikeskus – EVK
The links are used to process foreign securities in the Polish market (including transfers and corporate actions).
The links with Clearstream and Euroclear Bank are used to access other foreign markets indirectly.
Figure 1. KDPW cross-border links
 |
