List of Brokers with CONSOB (Italy) Regulation
The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) is the public authority responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. They aim to protect the investor community by regulating, authorizing, monitoring and controlling Italian financial markets while ensuring the efficiency, transparency and development of the securities markets. To achieve these objectives, the Commission, through regulation, regulates its own organization and operations with the sole limitation of legitimacy checks carried out by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
| Established | : | 1974 |
| Country | : | Italy |
| Website | : | https://www.consob.it |
| Total Brokers | : | 11 |
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Ever since the Euro regulation was implemented in Italy, many brokers choose to avoid the country and open their business in more agreeable jurisdictions like the UK. Such condition is made worse by the fact that Italy has been plagued by a series of economic crises over the last few years; another reason for forex brokerage to operate outside of Italy,
Despite not having a huge market in Italy, forex trading is still a quite popular and absolutely legal activity. Traders may buy or sell currency pairs, hypothesize upcoming changes in price, and gain some profit out of it. High unemployment and poor infrastructure are also the reason why Italians choose forex trading. As many traders know, this is not a magical way to earn money and risks lurk everywhere, but this is still a viable option to make a living since the forex market is decentralized and not affected by conditions in their home country.
Although forex trading can be legally practiced, binary options brokers are deemed to be too risky by the Italian government. Therefore, CONSOB regulated brokers are mostly forex brokerage companies that have acquired the necessary licenses to operate and offer their service in the country.
What Makes CONSOB Regulation Appealing?
Commossione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) or National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange was founded in 1974. At that time, the government decided that they needed an agency to watch over the securities market which was handled by the Italian Ministry of Treasury. Sometimes later, they were also given authority to become autonomous.
As mentioned previously, they are tasked to watch over brokerage companies, issuing licenses for the forex brokers, supervise trading activities, and conduct disciplinary action to the brokers that are proven to have been doing insider trading, financial fraud, scams, and more.
CONSOB requires all forex brokers to be licensed in order to operate in Italy. The requirement can be obtained either by CONSOB or other regulatory bodies within the European Economic Area. Only then the forex brokers may open an office and operate in Italy.
In addition, Italian forex brokers also fall under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). The directive helps protect forex traders by ensuring that all brokers can give compensation to their clients if they happen to fall into bankruptcy.
Forex brokers that are already licensed must fulfill certain requirements such as the minimum capital amount and placing clients' funds in a different bank (segregated account). In return, forex brokers usually charge around 0.1 to 0.2 pips of spread for major pairs.
To fund their forex account, Italian traders usually use Visa and Mastercard, sometimes they also use American Express and Discover. Sending deposits through those cards is often processed instantly, but the withdrawal may take up to 5 business days.
Aside from cards, e-wallet such as Paypal, Skrill, and Neteller are used quite often as well because withdrawals via these e-wallet accounts generally only take up to 48 hours.
Forex brokers also offer direct bank transfer options. This option is a little bit expensive but it is proven, dependable, and secure. The last one is a local payment option such as Sofort, Postepay, and Neosurf.
What are the Popular Platforms?
Everyone that has spent some time in this forex trading world knows how volatile the market is, how risky this business is, and how confusing it is to find a suitable forex broker. At the very least, Italian forex traders require good software to work on.
MetaTrader 4, released in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software in Cyprus, is now used by more than 90% of forex traders. This platform is suitable for newcomers or more experienced forex traders because it is made with forex trading in mind. So, it's not a surprise that MetaTrader 4 is also popular among Italian traders. Another platform that is popular in Italy is cTrader, an award-winning platform that is said to be more sophisticated, offers better charting, and provides pricing transparency data.
Many Italian forex traders also like to conduct trade on the go, they often download trading apps for free in Apple Store or Google Play. After installing the app on their device, they can log in or create a new account, deposit some trading fund, or test the water using a demo account.
If you are interested to open an account in one of the brokers in the list above, make sure to try the forex demo account before proceeding to register in the live account.
Additional FAQ
What should we do if the broker's regulation is still "in process"?
Some brokers might claim that they are in the process of applying for a license or a license extension. But in reality, not all brokers are true to their words. Some of them don't actually apply for any license and only use those words to steal the clients' funds. Even if the license is indeed "in the process", the broker's still unregulated during that time.
Continue Reading at Forex Regulation Insights: Defining Your Broker's Status
What are the regulations for offline forex trading in Nigeria?
The foreign exchange transaction activity in the offline market is supported by law. Some of these include the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 1958, the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1995, the Exchange Control Act of 1962, the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act of 2007, and the Investments and Securities Act of 2007.
Continue Reading at Is It Safe to Trade Forex in Nigeria?
What is the regulatory status of forex trading in Nigeria?
Online trading in Nigeria is currently unregulated, while offline forex trading is well-regulated. This regulatory contrast is due to the differences like these two markets.
Continue Reading at Is It Safe to Trade Forex in Nigeria?
What are the areas of PRA's regulation?
According to the PRA rulebook, there are 3 areas of the PRA regulations. Firms must comply with the regulations depending on which classification they fall into.
- Banking and Investment Rules: for CRR firms (banks, building societies, or investment firms subject to the EU Capital Requirements Regulation) and non-CRR firms (credit unions, building societies, or PRA-designated investment firms not subject to the EU CRR).
- Insurance Rules: for SII firms (insurance firms subject to the Solvency II Directive) and non-SII firms.
- Other rules: for non-authorized persons (persons or firms not authorized by the PRA).
Continue Reading at What are the Top UK Financial Regulators?
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