On 14 October 2026, PKO Bank Polski confirmed it is not waiting until the last moment to launch its Personal Investment Account (OKI) offer. According to Analizy.pl, Poland's largest bank is preparing an "umbrella" OKI that bundles a term deposit, treasury bonds, investment funds and a brokerage account for stocks and ETFs into a single contract. The bank's goal is ambitious: having 30% of all assets gathered in OKI accounts belong to PKO BP clients, a target its investment banking director, Magdalena Ramatowska, described as "a very ambitious target".
For an ordinary person in Poland who has mostly heard about OKI in headlines, this is a signal that the change taking effect on 1 January 2027 is real, and it will matter even for people who have never touched the stock market but simply keep money in a deposit or savings account.
What OKI actually is, and why banks are in a hurry
The law on personal investment accounts was signed by the president on 13 August 2026. OKI is a new type of account that can hold deposits, treasury bonds, fund units, shares and ETFs at the same time, with gains on these assets exempt, up to a set limit, from Poland's 19% capital gains tax (the so-called "Belka tax").
That tax break is exactly why banks, brokerages and fund managers are already competing for customers before the law even takes effect. Besides PKO BP, ING Bank Śląski and DM BOŚ have also confirmed they will be ready from 1 January 2027, and a survey by financial daily Parkiet of Poland's ten largest brokerages (covering roughly 2.8 million accounts, over 96% of the market) found that seven of them plan to offer OKI from day one.
Limits worth remembering
- Full exemption from the Belka tax covers up to 100,000 zł held in investment assets such as shares, fund units or ETFs.
- Within that same amount, a narrower sub-limit of 25,000 zł applies to "savings-type" assets, i.e. term deposits and treasury bonds.
- Opening the account, deposits and withdrawals are meant to be free of charge, regardless of which institution you choose.
Why PKO BP is using the deposit as a "front door"
The bank's own statements reveal a strategy worth understanding before signing anything. PKO BP representatives openly say they do not expect customers to immediately move money into the stock market. Instead, many people are expected to first open a plain deposit inside the OKI umbrella, a familiar and "safe" product, and only gradually shift part of their savings into funds or shares later.
This is not a criticism, just an honest description of the sales mechanics: the deposit inside OKI is meant to be the appetiser that builds appetite for the main course - investment products with a higher margin for the bank. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as the reader understands the game and compares terms instead of signing the first contract their own bank happens to advertise.
The catch that gets far less attention
The new tax break is only half the picture. The other half is a new asset-value levy that applies to funds exceeding the exemption limits. For 2027 its rate is fixed directly in the law at 0.85%; only from 2028 is it to be calculated as 19% of the NBP reference rate on 31 October of the previous year, no less than 0.1%. Crucially, this levy is calculated on the value of the assets held, not on any profit made, so in theory you could owe it even if your investment actually lost value that year.
To illustrate: if you keep a 10,000 zł surplus above the limits in your investment account, the new 0.85% levy amounts to roughly 85 zł a year, regardless of whether that capital earned any return. For someone keeping a comfortable cash buffer of a few tens of thousands of złoty, that detail can change the whole calculation. As long as you stay within the 25,000 zł sub-limit for savings-type assets, nothing gets worse. Above that amount, an ordinary deposit kept outside OKI, with no limits or extra levies, may in practice be simpler and cheaper than squeezing larger sums into a structure built mainly for stock-market investors.
What this means for your money right now
OKI will not start working until 1 January 2027, and banks are still finalising the exact terms of their offers, so it is still too early to sign anything. It is, however, a good moment to take stock of your own savings and think about where your money will sit a few months from now.
If you have spare cash you want to keep safe until year-end, you do not need to wait for OKI: compare current deposit offers and check whether it makes sense to lock funds away for a few months, or whether a flexible savings account with instant access suits you better. OKI will need to be opened somewhere, and the everyday account linked to your finances matters too, so it is also worth taking a moment to compare personal accounts before picking the bank where you build your entire investment umbrella.
What you should do
Remember three things. First, OKI is a genuine tax break, but it is designed mainly for people who actually invest in shares and funds, not just park cash in a deposit. Second, above the 25,000 zł sub-limit for savings-type assets, a new levy on asset value, not profit, kicks in, and it is worth weighing before moving all your savings there. Third, bank marketing campaigns will really ramp up in November and December, so before the first advert convinces you, check BankSorter.com, compare a few options and pick the one that actually fits your situation, not just your bank's sales targets.
Sources: statement by Magdalena Ramatowska, head of PKO BP's investment banking division, on the 30% OKI assets target (xyz.pl/?p=262022, strefainwestorow.pl/wiadomosci/20261014/pko-bp-chce-osiagnac-30-proc-udzialow-w-rynku-oki); composition of PKO BP's umbrella OKI and its "deposit as first step" strategy (analizy.pl/puls-rynku/40846/pko-bp-szykuje-parasolowe-oki-od-lokaty-do-portfela-inwestycyjnego); Parkiet survey of the 10 largest brokerages, 2.8 million accounts, 96% of the market, 7 of 10 planning OKI from day one (parkiet.com/biura-maklerskie/art44879441-maklerzy-ostrza-sobie-zeby-na-miliardy-zlotych-polakow-z-oki); ING Bank Śląski's and DM BOŚ's readiness for OKI (analizy.pl/tylko-u-nas/40765/gdzie-zalozyc-oki); the OKI asset-value levy rate: 0.85% in 2027, 19% of the NBP reference rate on 31 October of the previous year from 2028 (analizy.pl/tylko-u-nas/40517/podatek-oki-2027-0-85-limity-100-i-25-tys-zl); the date the president signed the law and its enactment (strefainwestorow.pl/wiadomosci/20260813/prezydent-podpisal-ustawe-o-osobistych-kontach-inwestycyjnych, infor.pl/akt-prawny/DZU.2026.230.0001098); the 100,000 zł / 25,000 zł Belka tax exemption limits (strefainwestorow.pl/podatki/oki-pkobp).