XTB is thinking about becoming its own stock exchange, at least for its clients. Filip Kaczmarzyk, the board member responsible for trading at the Polish broker, said in an interview published on 14 August 2026 that the firm is looking closely at solutions of the systematic internaliser type, an arrangement in which XTB would execute stock and ETF orders against its own inventory instead of routing everything to an exchange.
The motive is straight economics. Every routed order pays exchange fees, clearing and commissions, and XTB currently absorbs much of that cost to protect its headline offer, zero commission stock and ETF dealing up to 100,000 euros of monthly turnover. Internalising the flow would strip those fees out. Kaczmarzyk stopped short of saying XTB will register as a systematic internaliser itself, and no timeline was given. Partnering with an external provider or using another structure entirely remain on the table.
Why the Diversification Push Needs This
The context is a broker trying to outgrow its own product. Chief executive Omar Arnaout has said roughly 95 percent of XTB revenue still comes from CFDs and that he wants that share closer to 70 percent within two to three years. Stocks, ETFs and investment plans are the growth engine, and the engine gets cheaper to run if execution moves in house. XTB would be walking a path the big banks took years ago under MiFID, where systematic internalisers now handle a meaningful slice of European equity flow.
The Conflict Question
There is a catch worth naming. When a broker executes clients against its own book, its interests and the client's meet in the middle of the spread, which is exactly the tension CFD traders know from the dealing desk model. XTB has fresh scars here: Poland's KNF fined it 20 million zloty in April 2026 over conflicts of interest and misleading information, including the way its platform promoted higher spread instruments. A systematic internaliser is legal, regulated and common in equities, but it concentrates responsibility for fair pricing in the same building that profits from the pricing. Execution quality data will matter more than ever.
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Systematic internalisers are a settled part of European market structure. But a firm fined this spring over conflicts of interest is now weighing a model that puts it on the other side of its clients' stock trades, and that deserves scrutiny rather than applause.
If XTB goes ahead, the proof will live in execution quality reports, price improvement statistics and how loudly the firm publishes them.
Cheap execution that quietly costs the client at the fill is not cheap.
About the Company
About XTB
Regulator
KNF, within the EU MiFID framework
Jurisdiction
Poland | EU
Action Type
Evaluating systematic internaliser execution
Penalty
None on this plan | PLN 20m KNF fine April 2026
XTB is a Warsaw listed broker founded in 2002 that serves clients across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia with CFDs, stocks, ETFs and investment plans. The group is supervised at home by Poland's KNF, with the FCA, CySEC and other regulators covering its entities abroad, and it reports well over a million clients. In April 2026 the KNF fined the firm 20 million zloty over conflict of interest and disclosure failures, a penalty that arrived while XTB works to shift revenue away from CFDs toward investing products.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a systematic internaliser?
An investment firm under EU rules that executes client orders against its own capital instead of sending them to an exchange, subject to quoting and best execution obligations. Large banks have operated them since MiFID reshaped European markets.
Why does XTB want a systematic internaliser?
Cost. Routing orders to exchanges means fees, clearing and commissions that XTB largely absorbs to keep stock and ETF dealing free up to 100,000 euros of monthly turnover. Executing in house would remove much of that expense while the firm pushes CFD revenue from about 95 percent of the total toward 70 percent.
Has XTB decided to become a systematic internaliser?
No. Kaczmarzyk described it as something the firm is examining closely, with direct registration, an external partner or an alternative structure all possible and no timeline attached.
Is XTB safe to use?
XTB is a large listed broker regulated in multiple jurisdictions, and nothing in this plan changes that today. The April 2026 KNF fine over conflicts of interest is worth knowing about, and clients should watch execution quality disclosures closely if internalisation ever goes live. See its standing in our Best Forex Brokers in 2026 ranking.
Editor's note & source: Factual points drawn from Finance Magnates reporting and company statements. The systematic internaliser model remains under evaluation and no decision has been announced. This article is not investment advice. Last updated: 16 August 2026.