Spotlight on… underlying assets in Poland (H1 2023)

An estimated PLN2.6 billion (US$635m) was collected from 62 publicly offered structured products in the first half of 2023 – up 13.5% by sales volume year-on-year (YoY), according to SRP data.

Products linked to a worst-of basket of shares captured 34% of the market, just about edging those tied to a single equity index, which claimed a market share of 32%.

The former, typically linked to two, three and sometimes even four stocks, was seen in 26 products worth an estimated PLN860m, including 19 that offered a capital return of more than 100% (H1 2022: PLN930m from 23 products).

An example of such product was Bank Pekao’s US dollar denominated Worst of Capital Protection Note on the shares of Carrefour and Total Energies. The two-year structure is listed in Luxembourg for an issued amount of US$24m and promises to return at least 6.65% on top of the nominal invested. However, an additional coupon of seven percent is paid if both shares close at or above their respective initial levels on the final validation date.

Products linked to a single equity index – 10 in total during the semester – saw their market share shrink by 19 percentage points YoY, a gap which was mostly plugged by seven ETF-linked structures (23% market share), an asset class which was not available at all in H1 2022.

The most used indices were the Nikkei 225 and Euro Stoxx 50 ESG-X index, both seen in two products, while iShares Silver Trust, SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were among the ETFs that were used.  

Five products had a single share as underlying (4.6% market share) and a further three products, which were issued via BNP Paribas and sold a combined PLN110m, were tied to commodities (4.3%). The seven currency-linked products were all deposits linked to the appreciation of the Polish zloty relative to either the euro (four products) or US dollar (three).