How XTB Captured 4 Out of Every 5 New Polish Brokerage Accounts In October

XTB grabbed 58,300 new Polish brokerage accounts in October, accounting for more than 50% of the firm's global expansion during a month when it claimed to have signed up over 100,000 clients worldwide.

The figures from Poland's Central Securities Depository (KDPW) paint a picture of a company whose international success story is being written largely at home. While XTB disclosed it crossed the 100,000 mark for new users globally in October, the Polish data suggests the majority came from its domestic market.

The October surge pushed XTB's total Polish account count to 716,200, maintaining a commanding lead over rivals in a market that added 71,700 accounts overall during the month. The second-place finisher, PKO BP's brokerage arm, attracted 6,500 new accounts, followed by mBank's division with 4,500.

It is important to remember that KDPW data covers only traditional brokerage accounts opened for stock trading, not CFDs.

Technical Systems Struggle Under Weight of Growth

The rapid expansion hasn't come without costs. XTB suffered a system outage last week that the company attributed to infrastructure that hasn't kept pace with client growth.

“We have one component that's been developed over more than a decade and worked great during that time,” Adam Dubiel, XTB's head of IT, said in an interview with Parkiet TV on Friday. “Now it's failed, which is also related to the fact that we keep growing. It doesn't match the current reality.”

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Dubiel said most of XTB's systems run on newer architecture, but the legacy component that caused problems had performed well until recent growth rates overwhelmed it.

Traditional Banks Show Signs of Life

The October numbers offered some bright spots for established players trying to fend off XTB's dominance. PKO BP's brokerage benefited from parent company bond offerings marketed to retail clients, while mBank's division has been promoting exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term-traded fund trades.

Poland's 34 traditional brokerages combined now manage 2.38 million accounts, though that figure excludes rivals like Revolut that operate under non-Polish licenses and reportedly holds almost 600,000 accounts. XTB controls roughly 30% of that total, a share that's grown steadily as the firm added accounts at a 62% clip through August.

mBank holds second place among Polish-regulated brokerages with 493,800 accounts, a distant second to XTB's position but still well ahead of smaller competitors.

Younger Demographics Fuel Retail Trading Boom

The surge in account openings reflects broader shifts in how Polish investors approach markets. Recent data shows 27% of investors aged 18 to 24 now view stocks as their primary wealth-building tool, nearly matching the 25% who prioritize real estate.

That generational split marks a departure from older cohorts, where 39% of those aged 34 to 54 still put property first. The younger group also relies heavily on social media for investment ideas, with 21% citing online platforms as their main information source.

Those digital habits carry risks. Surveys show 29% of traders in the 18-to-24 bracket have lost money following online advice, slightly above the 27% rate for all investors. Most losses stayed below 4,300 zloty, though 6% of young traders reported hits exceeding 21,500 zloty.