Category: Industry

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission announces that the authorisation of the Cyprus Investment Firm Centralspot Trading Ltd is suspended in whole, as there are suspicions of an alleged violation of the Regulated Markets Law. The company operates the broker under the trading name Opteck. If you want to have a safe trade we recommend you trade with TriumphFX which is considered safe under its CySEC entity.

The above decision was reached as the aforementioned alleged violation may cause concern and risk relating to the protection of the firm's clients and constitute a threat to the orderly operation and integrity of the market.

Within fifteen days, Centralspot Trading Ltd has to take actions in order to comply with the aforementioned provisions. During the suspension period, the company is not allowed to provide/carry out investment services/activities, enter into any business transaction with any person and accept any new client, advertise itself as a provider of investment services. 

The company provided this is consistent with the wishes of its existing clients, may proceed with completing all its own transactions and those of its clients which are before it, in accordance with client instructions, as well as, returning all funds and financial instruments which are attributable to its clients.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, better known as CySEC, is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. It supervises and controls the operation of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, grants operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms, and brokers, impose administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties. You can read the detailed article about the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission here.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has announced that it has reached a settlement with Cyprus Investment Firm FXNET Ltd. 

The settlement reached with the company, for the possible violations of The Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law, is for the amount of €60.000. The Company has paid the amount of €60.000.

FxNet (Read FxNet review by link) is an STP forex broker, regulated by the CySEC as well as the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC).

According to the regulator's official notice, the company was not able to comply with the several sections of the law, including the one, concerning the provision of investment services referred to its operating license. 

Also, FxNet has failed to comply with the Section 28 (1) of the Law, according to which the Cyprus Investment Firm Services (CIF) must comply with all conditions throughout its operation licensing, meaning organizational requirements.

One more reason the company has been penalized is the Section 36 (1) (a) of the Law, regarding professional ethics obligations when providing investment and ancillary services to clients.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission( known as CySEC), is the financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. It supervises and controls the operation of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, grants operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms, and brokers, impose administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties. You can read the detailed article about the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission here.

The marketing, distribution, and sale of binary options to retail clients will remain prohibited in Germany. This is set out in a general administrative act issued by BaFin in response to the expiry of the product intervention measure imposed by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

In particular, BaFin sees risks and thus considerable investor protection concerns in that binary options are complex and lack transparency, especially with regard to the calculation of their performance and the underlying. Unlike other financial instruments, binary options are not traded on a market where prices result from supply and demand. Instead, it is the provider who determines the price, and clients are not in a position to understand it or check its accuracy. 

As binary options typically are extremely short-term instruments, it is difficult for retail investors to accurately assess the risk-return profile. Moreover, binary options providers usually act as the direct counterparty to their clients’ trades. This places the provider’s interests in direct conflict with those of its investors. For instance, there is a risk that providers will manipulate the price of the underlying at the expiry of the binary option or change the term of the binary option by seconds or milliseconds so as to avoid having to pay out on the option contract.

The marketing, distribution and sale of binary options to retail clients have so far been prohibited in the European Union due to a temporary measure imposed by ESMA. This measure expires on 1 July 2019. BaFin’s general administrative act is published on the BaFin website and will be applicable from 2 July 2019.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is changing its approach to the compensation of investors. On 13th of March, the Cyprus financial watchdog introduced the final set of reforms to the legal framework governing the operation of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). The updated rules reflect the more stringent approach of the Cypriot regulator, as it tries to find solutions in response to the loss of customer funds observed in recent years.

The obligation to participate in the ICF applies to all investment services and to ancillary custody services irrespective of whether clients’ funds and financial instruments are held.

Changes made by the regulator will take effect immediately, with all CIFs required to fulfill the following mandatory provisions. To cover the administrative and operational expenses of the ICF, the new directive introduces annual fees of 700 euros for firms owning clients' assets and 100 euros per year for members who do not have acceptable means.

It is reported that CySEC will remove any provisions in relation to limiting or refunding the contributions of the members that will be paid to the ICF pursuant to the New ICF Directive. Also, the regulator will not limit potential extraordinary contributions by an ICF member in the event of an adverse scenario which requires the ICF to fund compensation due to investors, should the necessary requirements be met.

CySEC changed the maximum compensation for valid claims from the current 100% with a maximum of 20,000 euros so that it constitutes either 90% of the total covered claims or 20,000 euros, whichever is lower.

CySEC chairman Demetra Kalogeru has commented on the new rules: “The upgraded regulatory framework governing the Investor Compensation Fund provides for a balanced, proportionate and risk-based approach to determining the level of contributions required by member firms. The robustness of the ICF is fundamental to maintaining investor confidence, and ultimately investor protection. Our thorough consultation and resulting changes will help ensure it is a well-funded and resilient mechanism to support the compensation of eligible investors in the event of last-resort market failure.”

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark has been falling recently, and the price dipped below the psychological 100 USD threshold. Can the short-term bearish trend continue?

To bring price stability to the oil market, the IEA has promised to infuse an additional 60 million barrels of oil into the global supply from its strategic oil stocks for the next two months. The additional supply from the IEA will strengthen the release of 180 million barrels by US President Joe Biden out of their Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), announced a few weeks ago.

Additionally, the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns in China have led to a decline in demand from China, the world's largest importer of oil, likely helping WTI oil decline to double digits again.

In other news, The European Union (EU) is holding a high-level dialogue meeting with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Monday, as the EU is looking at ways to step up sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo.

However, Europe is split on an immediate oil embargo, with the EU's most significant economy. Germany, currently unwilling to go for it, saying an oil ban would plunge Germany and Europe into a deep recession. So, is the EU sanctioning themselves, or what is the plan here?

Technically speaking, oil is now testing March lows near the 94.50 USD level. We might see a quick decline toward 90 USD if the price drops below it. In case peace is restored between Ukraine and Russia, the WTI benchmark can drop further toward the 200-day moving average, near 81.50 USD (the green line).

Alternatively, if bulls defend the mentioned support, we might see a quick return to 100 USD. If oil jumps above that resistance, further gains toward 105 USD seem likely.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today released consultation conclusions on proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures (Professional Investor) Rules (PI Rules). These amendments are meant to standardise the rules for prescribing professional investors.

The consultation paper was issued on 1st of March 2017 and was proposing the the number of amendments to the Securities and Futures (Professional Investor) Rules (PI Rules) which align to include the changes the SFC has previously granted under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO).

The amendments to the PI Rules (Revised PI Rules) are allowing portfolios held in joint accounts with persons other than associates and investment corporations owned by an individuals to count towards meeting the monetary threshold to qualify as professional investors. Also the amendments are expanding the corporations as professional investors and allowing the other forms of evidence to demonstrate qualification as professional investors.

A total of 17 written submissions from market representatives were received by the SFC during the period of consultation. Most of the respondents were positive about the changes and proposals mentioned in the amendments. Although, some of the respondents suggested that the SFC should loosen the other rules and criteria. Considering all the comments, the SFC made a decision to count the proposals as appropriate for the Hong Kong market. The amended PI Rules will come into force on 13 July 2018.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that it is recognising the following voluntary market codes of best practice under its codes recognition scheme.

FX Global Code – maintained and updated by the Global Foreign Exchange Committee, this Code sets global principles of good practice standards in the foreign exchange (FX) market, promoting the integrity and effective functioning of the wholesale FX market.

UK Money Markets Code (MM) – maintained and updated by the Money Markets Committee, this sets standards and best practice expected from participants in the deposit, repo and securities lending markets in the United Kingdom.

Both these codes have been written and are owned by the industry and reflect their views of best practice.

The FCA established its codes recognition scheme last year for recognising industry codes for unregulated financial markets and activities. The FX and MM Codes are the first codes to be recognised by the FCA.  

Individuals subject to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) need to meet the requirements for market conduct, for both regulated and unregulated activities.  Behaviour that is in line with an FCA recognised code, such as the FX and MM Codes, will tend to indicate a person subject to the SM&CR is meeting their obligation to observe ‘proper standards of market conduct’.

UK online trading leader IG Group Holdings plc has announced the appointment of Robert Michael McTighe as Chairman of the Board. Mike is the Chairman of Openreach Limited, Together Financial Services Limited, and Arran Isle Limited.

McTighe will officially take up the role on 3 February 2020, replacing Jonathan Moulds who is currently serving as interim chairman at IG Group. 

Interim Chairman Jonathan Moulds commented: "Michael brings impressive board and leadership experience in financial services and other regulated sectors, and we look forward to benefiting from his considerable stakeholder management skills." 

Also commenting on the appointment, Malcolm Le May, Senior Independent Director and Interim Chairman of the Nomination Committee, who led the search for the new Chairperson said: "Following the completion of our comprehensive selection and appointment process, I am delighted that Michael has agreed to join the Board and welcome him to IG as June and the executive execute on the strategy articulated at the investor day earlier this year".    

Robert Michael McTighe has added: "I am very excited to be joining IG and look forward to leading the Board and supporting June Felix and the executive team as they continue to execute the Group's stated strategy."  

Mike McTighe brings to IG a wealth of leadership, board and regulatory experience from both public and private companies. For over 20 years he has held various non-executive director roles in a range of regulated and unregulated industries whilst also spending eight years on the board of Ofcom and one year on the board of Postcomm. 

You can read our full review for one of the IG Group firms, IG Markets.