mBank lender offers ETFs on IKE and IKZE accounts without commission

Only 2.5 percent of eligible Poles have IKE accounts, and about 4.5 percent use IKZE accounts. The pension replacement rate is 54 percent now but is projected to drop to 30 percent by 2045 and 25 percent by 2055.

In 2024, 61 percent of new brokerage accounts were IKE or IKZE. 85 percent of 2023 funders renewed in 2024. According to mBank, 56 percent of IKE/IKZE customers traded only ETFs in 2024.

ETF assets in IKE/IKZE accounts at mBank amount to PLN 1.531 billion (EUR 360.4 million) which is half of the value of funds accumulated in these accounts. About 39 percent of the funds are invested in Polish shares and 11 percent in foreign shares.

Representatives of mBank and mBank's brokerage office therefore want to focus on ETFs and encourage Poles to take an interest in these instruments with a view to building their future pensions.

"We want to raise financial awareness about pensions and teach good habits: long-term investment and regular payments," said Krzysztof Bratos, mBank's deputy CEO for retail banking.

mBank has decided to reduce commissions to PLN 0 for over 450 ETFs offered by the bank to IKE/IKZE account holders. The promotion is set to last until the end of February 2026, but bank representatives do not rule out that it will continue in a similar form after that date.

"Our intention is to keep this offer for longer, we do not want it to be a one-off promotion. We will observe how our customers behave and how they use this promotion," said Bratos.

The promotion includes over 450 of the 500 ETFs offered by mBank, covering primarily equity, bond, gold, and silver ETFs listed in London, Frankfurt, and Warsaw. More speculative ETFs are excluded.

pr/ nl/ han/