It was a week dominated by regulatory issues and financial results in Forex Industry News, with the key stories once again appearing first or exclusively at LeapRate.
Our most popular guest posts this past week included:
- CySEC changes to Investor Compensation Fund: what does it mean for Forex brokers and traders? from MAP S.Platis General Manager Demetris Taxitaris, and
- Australia’s Retail Client Money Law: The Case for Registered Custodians in Forex, courtesy of Brandon Russell, CEO of Etana Custody.
Some of our most popular, shared and commented-on posts this week at LeapRate included:
China-focused retail forex broker gets CySEC CIF license. LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that the most recent CIF license handed out by Cyprus financial regulator CySEC has gone to a retail forex broker, looking to focus mainly in the Far East and China. The license was formally issued earlier this week. Which broker is it? Who is behind the company? Who will be CEO? Get all the details, exclusively now at LeapRate.
Forex broker XTB sees revenues plummet 38% in Q1 to PLN 58 million. LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned via regulatory filings made in Poland that Warsaw Exchange listed X Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski SA (WSE:XTB), which operates Retail Forex broker XTB.com as well as the X Open Hub trading platform, has continued its quite unusual pattern of up-and-down performance with a very slow quarter to begin 2017. What led to the large Revenue drop at XTB? Why were Spot FX trading revenues, in particular, so weak (down nearly 75% from Q4!)?
Plus500 Revenues dip 15% in Q1 to $77.5M, names new Chairman. Retail Forex and CFDs broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) has announced its results for the first quarter of 2017, indicating a 15% dropoff in Revenues from Q4’s record levels. What led to the Revenues dropoff at the #2 UK CFDs broker? Are UK client acquisition costs rising, or falling? Any update on the FCA’s new proposed rule changes? And who was named as the new Chairman of the Board at Plus500? Get all the details and exclusive analysis, now at LeapRate.
OptionWeb sends warning letter to its French affiliates. LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that binary options, forex and CFDs broker OptionWeb has sent out a fairly strongly worded message to its affiliates serving clients in France, Monaco and Luxembourg. The message (in French, repeated in full in our article) makes it very clear that OptionWeb affiliates must immediately remove some types of advertising, but can still promote certain products. So what is, and isn’t allowed now in France?
FXCM cash investment recovered by Leucadia, still owed $123 million plus equity stake. Investment firm Leucadia National Corp (NYSE:LUK) has issued its Q1 results report, which included some interesting updates on its $300 million loan to retail forex broker FXCM. The most interesting note was Leucadia’s statement that it had already (nearly) recovered the full amount of cash it invested in FXCM.