One of the ideas of the capital market is to allow a private investor to invest in financial instruments. That requires the so-called infrastructure of the capital market (the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the National Depository for Securities, etc.), and the relevant intermediaries, i.e. investment firms (more often referred to in trading as brokerage houses and brokerage offices). 

Warsaw Stock Exchange (Giełda Papierów Wartościowych w Warszawie S.A., GPW)

The primary activity of GPW is to operate the regulated market. The regulated market is a permanent organised trading system for financial instruments which provides investors with equal and universal access to market information, associating offers of acquisition and disposal of financial instruments, and uniform terms and conditions for the acquisition and disposal of such instruments.

The main financial instruments traded on GPW are securities: shares, bonds, subscription rights, rights to shares, investment certificates, and derivatives: futures, options, index participation units.

Apart from the regulated market, GPW also operates the organised market of financial instruments, according to the formula of the alternative trading system (NewConnect). As assumed by the organiser, the market is dedicated to young emerging companies with a relatively small capitalisation expected. 

BondSpot S.A.

The right to operate the regulated market in Poland is also held by BondSpot S.A. The main financial instruments traded on the BondSpot S.A. platform are treasury bonds, corporate bonds, cooperative bonds and other debt securities listed under the Catalyst system.

BondSpot S.A. – Alternative Trading System 

Apart from the regulated market, BondSpot S.A. also arranges the trading in debt instruments as part of the alternative trading system. The market is also one of the segments of the Catalyst system. Similarly to the regulated market arranged by BondSpot S.A., the alternative trading system may be used to trade in dematerialised bonds, mortgage bonds, and other debt financial instruments incorporating property rights corresponding with the rights arising from an incurred debt. 

National Depository for Securities (Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartościowych S.A.)

The National Depository for Securities is the central institution responsible for running and supervising the depository and clearing system with regard to the financial instruments traded in Poland. 

KDPW_CCP S.A. 

KDPW_CCP S.A. clears transactions entered into in organised trading, i.e. in the regulated spot and futures markets (GPW S.A. and BondSpot S.A.) and in alternative trading systems (ASO GPW S.A. and ASO BondSpot S.A.), as well as settles derivative instruments executed outside the organised trading and repos. KDPW_CCP S.A. arranges the clearing liquidity guarantee system for transactions accepted for clearing. KDPW_CCP S.A. takes over the obligations of parties to the cleared transactions and becomes the buyer for each seller and the seller for each buyer while securing the cleared transactions with its own assets. 

Commodity exchange

In Poland, apart from the existing capital market, there is also an exchange commodities market, which is operated by the Polish Power Exchange (Towarowa Giełda Energii S.A, hereinafter referred to as ‘TGE S.A.’). Markets operated by TGE S.A. may trade in electricity, property rights, CO2 emission allowances, natural gas. TGE S.A. also arranges energy auctions and natural gas auctions. 

TGE S.A. also operates a regulated market under the name of Financial Instruments Market. Only financial instruments other than securities whose underlying instrument is an exchange commodity admitted to trading on the commodity exchange may be traded on this market. 

Commodity Clearing House (Izba Rozliczeniowa Giełd Towarowych S.A.)

The Commodity Clearing House carries out clearing and settlement of transactions in financial instruments and settles transactions in exchange commodities with respect to the market operated by TGE S.A. 

Investment firms

Investment firms are better known as brokerage houses or brokerage offices. They operate in the form of independent companies and/or organisational units existing within the structure of a bank. They are entities which provide investors with access to the capital market infrastructure providers to execute the transactions of acquisition or disposal of financial instruments, and provide a series of additional services relating to the execution of transactions, for example, investment advisory services.