The category of brokerage service providers, which are solely authorised to conduct such activity in the territory of Poland, includes investment firms as defined in Article 3 point 33 of the Act on trading in financial instruments. 

They include: 

• brokerage houses,
• banks conducting brokerage activities,
• foreign investment firms conducting brokerage activities in the territory of the Republic of Poland, and 
• foreign legal persons with their registered office in the territory of an OECD or WTO member which conduct brokerage activities in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Foreign investment firms, defined in Article 3 point 32 of the Act on trading in financial instruments, are investment firms with their registered office in another EU Member State. Those entities may conduct brokerage activities in Poland without additional authorisation from the KNF, on the basis of authorisation obtained in their home state (the so-called single passport rule – resulting from MiFID). The activities may be conducted through a branch established in Poland and/or on a cross-border basis. The basis for the activities of such entities in Poland (in the Polish legal order) is provided in Article 117 of the Act on trading in financial instruments.