The Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), the financial regulatory body of Spain, announced in a statement that it has added to its warning list new website that are illegally offering financial services to Spanish citizens.
The financial watchdog also blacklisted a clone company that pretends to be affiliated with an established company that operates as a Spanish broker-dealer specialized in several financial services including asset management.
The watchdog added additional domains to its caution list, including:
- TOP TIER CAPITAL (toptiercapital.org)
- BITBINX (bitbinx.ltd | bitbinx.com)
- CryptoMaxiTrade LTD (cryptomaxitrade.com)
- INNOVATIVEFX TRADE (innovativefxtrade.com/)
- SIF – SWISS INVESTMENTS FUNDS (globgraph.com/es)
- BREADINX (maxbreadinx.com)
- Universal Trade (universaltrade.io/)
- Crytomerge (crytomerge.com/)
- Active Financial (activefinancial.trade/)
- NOVENTUS (noventus-partners.io)
- LIVINGTRADEFX (livingtradefx.com/)
- BB CAPITALS (bbcapitals.com)
- AXIA TRADE (axiainvestments.com/es/)
- Smarttool Trading SC Limited (dynastyofcryptos.com/)
- PLATINUMHITECH (microngroup.pro/)
- UP MARKETS (up-markets.com)
- CIRCULO DE INVERSION (circulodeinversion.com)Top of Form
Although the financial watchdog didn’t provide specific details, the inclusion of the domains means that they are not officially registered in Spain and are thus not authorized to offer trading services to local traders.
This is why the CNMV advises Spanish investors to check its registers before they deposit any fund with a broker, especially if the related broker used aggressive marketing techniques.
FX brokers come under scrutiny
Recently, the CNMV issued a circular setting a host of new rules regarding trading costs and risk disclosure, Leverage and advertising requirements. In essence, the new guidance concerns companies that offer Forex, contracts for difference (CFDs) and other speculative products among retail investors in Spain.
More specially, the CNMV notes that any broker offering ‘excessive leverage’ greater than 10:1 needs to explicitly warn investors that it believes that such products are not appropriate for retail investors due to their complexity and the risks involved.
Operators are also required to ensure that clients are aware of the estimated cost in case they decide to close their position immediately after entering into the transaction. Furthermore, the CNMV expects that the CFDs and forex brokers will warn their clients that they can lose more than they originally invested due to the nature of margin trading.
Last year, the CNMV issued a circular that adopted an aggressive tone and threatened some European brokers that they could end up closing their activity in Spain, as the watchdog was fed up with their unfair practices. In essence, the guidance concerns companies that offer forex, contracts for difference (CFDs) and other speculative products among retail investors in Spain.
At the time, the Spanish regulatory body said it mainly examines CFD brokers based in Cyprus, and that it has its sights set on those who use overly aggressive tactics and practices. Additionally, the CNMV’s tightening covers activities involving the acquisition of retail clients, including information provided through marketing channels.
