LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that the Israeli financial regulator the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has issued a Dealers’ license to a sixth retail forex broker, Colmex.
Tzah Druker, Colmex
Colmex Israel, or formally TGL Colmex Capital Markets Ltd., operates website colmex.co.il, and is a sister company of CySEC regulated Colmex Pro Ltd, which operates colmex.com and colmexpro.com. All the aforementioned companies are controlled and run by Israeli businessman Tzah Druker.
Mr. Druker is also the Chairman of the Israeli Trading Arena Association (ITAA), a lobbying entity he put together with the heads of other Israel based retail forex brokers to work with the local securities authority on creating the new Israel Forex broker rules (more on those below).
The ISA has not yet made a formal announcement regarding the Colmex license, which we understand will be forthcoming in the next day or two.
The Colmex license brings to six the number of retail forex broker licenses granted by the ISA. The other five are:
- FXCM (at website fxcm.co.il)
- Plus500 (plus500.co.il)
- AvaTrade’s Israeli brand ATrade (atrade.co.il)
- Real Forex (he.real-forex.com)
- First Index (1st-index.com)
The five initial licenses formally took effect as of October 31, 2016. Colmex’s license will kick in as of December 7.
New Israeli regulations took effect effect in July covering different aspects of online trading. The ISA has been taking aggressive moves lately to reform the way online (and offline) brokers engage with clients, including the banning of all binary options trading.
Key elements of the new Israeli Forex regulations include:
- No bonuses or other gifts may be granted to clients.
- Deposits by clients can be made by bank/wire transfer or credit card only, not by debit card.
- All brokers must ask clients to view and sign a conflicts-of-interest policy, at least once each year.
- Leverage limits:
- 100:1 on Forex pairs and Gold trading
- 40:1 on Equity Indices
- 20:1 on all other instruments
There were initially 21 entities which put in a request for an Israeli retail forex broker license, to be able to serve Israeli clients. Seven of the 21 have been rejected by the ISA, 6 firms voluntarily withdrew their license request, and 2 license applications are still pending. Plus, the 6 which have been granted.
Separately, the ISA is trying to decide what to do with the multitude of binary options brokers which operate out of the country. The ISA has banned binary options trading by Israeli clients, but until now those brokers have been allowed to take clients from abroad.