Polish banks prepare Personal Investment Accounts for January 2027 rollout

Legislative background and timeline

Legislation establishing Personal Investment Accounts (Osobiste Konta Inwestycyjne, OKI) is scheduled to enter into force in Poland on 1 January 2027. The law establishes a framework that exempts qualifying retail investments from the 19% capital gains levy, known domestically as the Belka tax. With less than three months remaining in 2026, domestic commercial banks and brokerage houses are building the technical infrastructure and compliance mechanisms necessary to support the accounts. An industry survey conducted by the Polish Press Agency indicates that while implementation timelines differ across financial institutions, preparations are moving forward across the retail banking sector.

PKO Bank Polski strategy and projections

PKO Bank Polski confirmed that it will launch OKI accounts for retail customers on 1 January 2027, aligning directly with the statutory effective date. Michał Haupt, director of the investment product development department at PKO Bank Polski, stated that the institution will outline the operating principles and product mechanics to clients before the end of 2026.

We want to present the operating rules of OKI to clients still in the fourth quarter and show the possibilities it offers.

Internal projections by PKO Bank Polski indicate that total assets accumulated across the entire Polish banking sector in OKI accounts could exceed 100 billion PLN by the end of 2029. Over a five-year horizon from launch, the bank expects total market assets in the accounts to approach 200 billion PLN. At PKO Bank Polski Brokerage House, up to 30% of existing client portfolio assets are expected to shift into the new accounts within two years, with that proportion expanding further over subsequent years.

In our assessment, a significant portion of assets currently held in the PKO Bank Polski Brokerage House, potentially up to 30 percent, may move to OKI within two years, and in subsequent years this share will grow.

Product range and market development

The investment structure under development at PKO Bank Polski will include four asset categories: fixed-term bank deposits, State Treasury retail savings bonds, collective investment funds, and exchange-traded equities. Haupt described the product catalogue as designed to be the broadest on the market, aiming to foster long-term retail saving habits alongside capital gains tax advantages.

We believe that OKI can become an important impulse for the development of the Polish capital market. That is why we are working on an offer that will not only allow clients to benefit from tax preferences, but above all make it easier for them to start and develop long-term investing. The pace of OKI development will largely depend on how financial institutions approach this product and its promotion. As the largest bank in Poland, we want to actively participate in this process.

Implementation across competing lenders

Other financial institutions in Poland are similarly structuring their retail offerings around the January 2027 deadline. Bank Pekao and its brokerage division, Biuro Maklerskie Pekao, confirmed that OKI implementation is one of their primary development priorities in wealth management. Pekao's press office stated that the bank intends to provide access to the tax-advantaged vehicle as soon as the statute takes effect, combining tax relief with a selection of savings and investment products. The stage of operational readiness varies by institution, with individual banks calibrating their systems to meet the regulatory date.