The draft act amending certain acts in connection with ensuring the development of the financial market and investor protection in that market (hereinafter referred to as the draft) has been submitted for the second stage of public consultation and review. Comments can be submitted until November 25, 2022.
The bill envisages amendments to several different acts, including the Act on Investment Funds and the Management of Alternative Investment Funds, the Act on Public Offering and Conditions Governing the Introduction of Financial Instruments to Organized Trading and on Public Companies, the Act on Trading in Financial Instruments, the Act on Capital Market Supervision, and the Act on Payment Services.
According to the justification for the project, its main objectives include: streamlining the financial market, including by eliminating barriers to access and improving supervision, protecting clients of financial institutions, protecting minority shareholders in public companies, and increasing the level of digitalization in the implementation of supervisory duties by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) and the Office of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (UKNF), through appropriate changes to the laws regulating it.
The proposed changes result, among others, from the need to meet the requirements of the Capital Market Development Strategy (in accordance with Resolution No. 114 of the Council of Ministers of 1 October 2019 on the adoption of the Capital Market Development Strategy), including facilitating the functioning of entities supervised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority by simplifying licensing procedures and reporting obligations, as well as strengthening the protection of individual investors.
The most important assumptions of the proposed regulations include in particular:
- expanding the supervisory powers of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and granting additional powers enabling the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to impose fines on supervised entities, increasing the maximum fine, authorising the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to also penalise entities whose permit to conduct the activity related to the infringement has expired or has been withdrawn, as well as entities removed from the register authorising them to conduct a given activity, etc.;
- new rules for inspection activities conducted by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (e.g. the possibility of conducting inspection activities outside the place of business of the inspected entity),
- the possibility of using electronic deliveries within the meaning of the Act of 18 November 2020 on electronic deliveries (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 2320, as amended) regarding control activities and other supervisory activities of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority that do not take the form of an administrative decision,
- changes regarding calls for subscription for the sale or exchange of shares in public companies, including through greater protection of minority shareholders in acquired public companies, – changes in the scope of access rights to professional secrecy,
- extending the auditor’s powers to special matters by also applying them to subsidiaries of public companies,
- eliminating cases of so-called goldplating in the scope of obligations imposed on financial market entities, and a number of other proposed changes.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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