The Catalyst market, where corporate, municipal, and government bonds are traded, is entering another phase of rapid growth. Data from the Warsaw Stock Exchange show that by the end of 2025, nearly 800 series of debt instruments were listed on Catalyst, with a total value exceeding PLN 1.5 trillion, including covered bonds.
“We can see that in recent years the Catalyst market has been gaining strong momentum in terms of both the number of new issuers and the volume of bond series introduced,” says Izabela Mikołajczyk, Director of the Primary Market Department at the Warsaw Stock Exchange, in an interview with Newseria. “Over the past two to three years, there has been a clear boom, driven by strong inflows into bond funds and the growing financing needs of companies.”
A decade and a half of development
Catalyst was launched in 2009 as Poland’s first organized debt securities market. It enables secondary-market trading in corporate, municipal, and Treasury bonds across several segments operated jointly by the Warsaw Stock Exchange and BondSpot.
In 2024, the value of new corporate bond issues admitted to trading on Catalyst exceeded PLN 15 billion, representing an increase of around 77% over two years. While real estate developers and debt-collection companies still dominate in terms of the number of bond series, the value of issuance is increasingly driven by large companies listed in the main WSE indices.
“We are seeing growing interest in bond issuance among companies from the key stock market indices,” Mikołajczyk notes. “We expect the coming year to be positive as well. Record inflows into bond funds continue to support demand, and the growth potential remains substantial.”
Corporate bonds still underused in Poland
Despite the current boom, corporate bonds still play a relatively small role in corporate financing in Poland. In 2023, the value of outstanding corporate bonds amounted to just 2% of GDP, compared with an EU average of 35%. According to GPW representatives, this gap highlights the long-term development potential of the market.
“Bonds are an attractive alternative to bank financing and offer companies the opportunity to diversify their funding sources,” Mikołajczyk emphasizes.
Strong inflows into bond funds
Investor demand has been further fueled by exceptional inflows into bond funds. After a strong 2023, when investment funds attracted around PLN 23 billion, with a significant share flowing into bond strategies, 2024 set a new record. Net sales of investment fund units exceeded PLN 42 billion, with short-term bond funds emerging as the biggest beneficiaries.
Falling interest rates boost issuance
The interest rate environment has become another key driver of the Catalyst market. As the cost of money has declined, bond financing has become more attractive for many companies compared with bank loans. In 2025, Poland’s Monetary Policy Council cut interest rates by a total of 175 basis points, reducing the reference rate from 5.75% to 4.00%.
“In a declining interest rate environment, the bond market becomes particularly attractive for issuers compared with bank credit,” Mikołajczyk explains. “This is reflected in recent issues by blue-chip companies, which have successfully placed billion-zloty bond offerings at very competitive margins.”
According to the GPW, this trend is likely to continue, with the Catalyst market gradually becoming more diversified in sectoral terms. For issuers, bonds provide flexibility, reduce reliance on banks, and allow financing structures to be better aligned with business needs.
Education, regulation, and retail investors
The Warsaw Stock Exchange is actively supporting the development of the debt market. Among other initiatives, it has introduced a Catalyst-focused module within its IPO Academy, offering step-by-step guidance on raising capital through bond issuance. For the first time, the GPW has also extended its Analytical Coverage Support Program (PWPA) to include bond financing. Under the program, selected investment firms prepare quarterly reports on the Catalyst market, financed by the GPW, to improve access to analysis for mid-sized and less liquid issuers and to raise investor awareness.
Additional support may come from regulatory changes introduced under the EU’s Listing Act, a reform package aimed at boosting the attractiveness of European capital markets and simplifying issuance procedures. The regulation, which entered into force on 4 December 2024, simplifies prospectus rules, introduces new exemptions for smaller offerings, and is expected to lower the cost of accessing public markets—particularly for SMEs.
Retail investors drive demand
The current boom on Catalyst would not be possible without the growing activity of retail investors. After years of very low interest rates followed by inflation volatility, bonds—especially short-term instruments—have become a credible alternative to bank deposits.
“Individual investors are clearly interested in the bond market,” Mikołajczyk says. “We see this in record levels of retail bond issuance and in the high oversubscription rates. In recent years, demand has been, on average, twice as high as supply.”
This trend is also reflected in rising average subscription sizes per bond and, above all, in record inflows into bond funds, which increased by more than 130% year on year in the most recent period.
Together, these factors suggest that the Catalyst market is entering a more mature phase—supported by institutional and retail demand, favorable monetary conditions, regulatory reforms, and a growing awareness among companies of the benefits of bond financing.
