Poland has amended its law on trading in financial instruments to introduce omnibus accounts. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2012.
The introduction of the omnibus account concept should attract foreign investors to the Polish capital market by reducing the perceived barrier of mandatory segregation, according to a newsflash to clients issued by UniCredit GSS.
Omnibus accounts allow custodians to open single accounts at the CSD level for multiple underlying investors. This reduces cost for custodians, streamlines corporate actions processing and allows for internalized settlement through the custodian rather than the CSD.
The Polish Parliament approved the amendments to the law in August, following Cabinet approval in July. The law is now officially on the books and will become effective at the start of next year.
The January 1 implementation date is later than first hoped by market participants, who expected the new laws to go into effect 30 days after they were announced.
Poland is the largest market in Central and Eastern Europe.
(CG)