Poland plans to scrap broker licence for electricity trading

Entering the Polish electricity market could become easier as the Polish Ministry of Justice is planning to scrap the broker licence this year, both the Ministry of Justice and the Polish exchange POLPX told ICIS on Tuesday.

Currently such licence is obligatory for every company that would like to start trading on the Polish market.

A draft of a legislation that will deregulate the financial broker’s profession and scrap the necessary licence to trade has been passed to Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, on 7 May 2014.

This went on to be discussed by the special committee which deals with limiting bureaucracy, on 24 June.

The changes would give a “green light” to those who want to participate in the Polish exchange or the over-the-counter (OTC) market, Jakub Jasnos, managing director of the Polish Energy Market Advisory, an organisation which helps companies to enter the Polish electricity market, told ICIS.

Last month, foreign traders complained that the procedure to gain permission to trade from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), as well as the process of gaining the broker licence, were complicated and “very bureaucratic” ( see EDEM 20 June 2014 ).

Brokers in demand

Jasnos said that currently demand for those holding the broker licence in Poland was higher than the supply.

He noted that approval from KNF was the most delaying part as up to 80 different documents had to be submitted in order to get the necessary permits. KNF did not comment on the issue by the time the article went to press.

However, one Polish trader said that deregulation would bring even more complications and give more power to the exchange.

“If we got rid of the licence, the whole control over who gets to trade on the exchange will be in the hands of the exchange” he said.

But a spokeswoman for POLPX disagreed and added that brokers’ activity will be approved not only by POLPX but also by KNF.

“We have an ongoing conversation with market participants and will consult any changes to the trading rules with them.

“Most participants, both in Poland and from foreign companies, welcomed the idea to scrap the broker licence as it will make it easier to access the market,” she said. Karolina Zagrodna