International brokers looking to establish a presence in the Asia-Pacific region are now facing yet another hurdle from regulators. New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has announced that businesses selling short-duration derivatives, such as binary options and contracts-for-difference (CFD), will need to be licensed in the country.
The regulator says that it has been reviewing these products due to potential risks to traders and held discussions with the sector in the process of coming to its decision.
Liam Mason, FMA Director of Regulation
Regulation
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
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Regulatory timeline From December 2017, any company marketing instruments to New Zealanders that settle within 3 days, whether they are based there or abroad, will require a licence. The FMA expects all currently unlicensed providers to apply for a licence by 1 August 2017.
The FMA is also asking for feedback on whether to use its designation power to declare that spot FX contracts physically settled by delivery of an amount of currency within three working days are not derivatives for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act.
Mason added: “Short-term derivatives are very high risk products and this risk is exacerbated when they are offered by unlicensed providers. About 40 per cent of the complaints we receive are about unlicensed derivative-issuers, and a common theme is that people have difficulty in getting their money back.
We believe this approach provides certainty to the industry about the scope of derivatives’ regulation. We also want to ensure that ordinary spot FX contracts are not unintentionally captured by this change. So we are consulting on a class designation for these contracts to ensure issuers of these products do not require a license.”
Sophie Gerber, Director of Sophie Grace Pty Ltd, commented: "This development is not surprising. There has been a huge surge in registrations on the Financial Services Provider Register (FSPR) by entities from around the world. The New Zealand regulators have been stepping up their resistance to these registrations over time and narrowing the requirements to succeed in joining the FSPR. We still receive many enquiries about obtaining an FSPR registration and understand that there is thriving secondary market for sale of FSPR registered companies.
This further step today confirms their intention to remove this sector of the market from using New Zealand as a de facto regulatory Hub
Hub
A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method used by cryptocurrency exchanges. This method provides transparency and allows traders to see the depth of the market. It also allows for more competitive pricing because there is no trading desk and no price manipulation. The disadvantage of this type of platform is that sudden market volatility can shift all traders to one side of the market or the other. There can be all buys and no seller or all sellers and no buyers. Liquidity Hubs ExplainedThis leads us to a liquidity hub, which platforms and brokers use to process each trade on their platform. When many liquidity providers join together to form a liquidity hub, they can also process trades whether they are more buys then sellers or vice versa. Deals can be processed faster for lower costs. Liquidity hubs allow brokers to deliver tight spreads into their traders and execute client orders at the best available prices from multiple liquidity providers. Liquidity hubs are traditionally hosted in premier data centers with a high concentration of trading participants such as Hong Kong, Chicago, or New York. These hub services provide full redundancies on the equipment and network supporting them, including the international pipe to primary and secondary data centers.
A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method used by cryptocurrency exchanges. This method provides transparency and allows traders to see the depth of the market. It also allows for more competitive pricing because there is no trading desk and no price manipulation. The disadvantage of this type of platform is that sudden market volatility can shift all traders to one side of the market or the other. There can be all buys and no seller or all sellers and no buyers. Liquidity Hubs ExplainedThis leads us to a liquidity hub, which platforms and brokers use to process each trade on their platform. When many liquidity providers join together to form a liquidity hub, they can also process trades whether they are more buys then sellers or vice versa. Deals can be processed faster for lower costs. Liquidity hubs allow brokers to deliver tight spreads into their traders and execute client orders at the best available prices from multiple liquidity providers. Liquidity hubs are traditionally hosted in premier data centers with a high concentration of trading participants such as Hong Kong, Chicago, or New York. These hub services provide full redundancies on the equipment and network supporting them, including the international pipe to primary and secondary data centers.
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International brokers looking to establish a presence in the Asia-Pacific region are now facing yet another hurdle from regulators. New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has announced that businesses selling short-duration derivatives, such as binary options and contracts-for-difference (CFD), will need to be licensed in the country.
The regulator says that it has been reviewing these products due to potential risks to traders and held discussions with the sector in the process of coming to its decision.
Liam Mason, FMA Director of Regulation
Regulation
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Read this Term
Regulatory timeline From December 2017, any company marketing instruments to New Zealanders that settle within 3 days, whether they are based there or abroad, will require a licence. The FMA expects all currently unlicensed providers to apply for a licence by 1 August 2017.
The FMA is also asking for feedback on whether to use its designation power to declare that spot FX contracts physically settled by delivery of an amount of currency within three working days are not derivatives for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act.
Mason added: “Short-term derivatives are very high risk products and this risk is exacerbated when they are offered by unlicensed providers. About 40 per cent of the complaints we receive are about unlicensed derivative-issuers, and a common theme is that people have difficulty in getting their money back.
We believe this approach provides certainty to the industry about the scope of derivatives’ regulation. We also want to ensure that ordinary spot FX contracts are not unintentionally captured by this change. So we are consulting on a class designation for these contracts to ensure issuers of these products do not require a license.”
Sophie Gerber, Director of Sophie Grace Pty Ltd, commented: "This development is not surprising. There has been a huge surge in registrations on the Financial Services Provider Register (FSPR) by entities from around the world. The New Zealand regulators have been stepping up their resistance to these registrations over time and narrowing the requirements to succeed in joining the FSPR. We still receive many enquiries about obtaining an FSPR registration and understand that there is thriving secondary market for sale of FSPR registered companies.
This further step today confirms their intention to remove this sector of the market from using New Zealand as a de facto regulatory Hub
Hub
A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method used by cryptocurrency exchanges. This method provides transparency and allows traders to see the depth of the market. It also allows for more competitive pricing because there is no trading desk and no price manipulation. The disadvantage of this type of platform is that sudden market volatility can shift all traders to one side of the market or the other. There can be all buys and no seller or all sellers and no buyers. Liquidity Hubs ExplainedThis leads us to a liquidity hub, which platforms and brokers use to process each trade on their platform. When many liquidity providers join together to form a liquidity hub, they can also process trades whether they are more buys then sellers or vice versa. Deals can be processed faster for lower costs. Liquidity hubs allow brokers to deliver tight spreads into their traders and execute client orders at the best available prices from multiple liquidity providers. Liquidity hubs are traditionally hosted in premier data centers with a high concentration of trading participants such as Hong Kong, Chicago, or New York. These hub services provide full redundancies on the equipment and network supporting them, including the international pipe to primary and secondary data centers.
A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method used by cryptocurrency exchanges. This method provides transparency and allows traders to see the depth of the market. It also allows for more competitive pricing because there is no trading desk and no price manipulation. The disadvantage of this type of platform is that sudden market volatility can shift all traders to one side of the market or the other. There can be all buys and no seller or all sellers and no buyers. Liquidity Hubs ExplainedThis leads us to a liquidity hub, which platforms and brokers use to process each trade on their platform. When many liquidity providers join together to form a liquidity hub, they can also process trades whether they are more buys then sellers or vice versa. Deals can be processed faster for lower costs. Liquidity hubs allow brokers to deliver tight spreads into their traders and execute client orders at the best available prices from multiple liquidity providers. Liquidity hubs are traditionally hosted in premier data centers with a high concentration of trading participants such as Hong Kong, Chicago, or New York. These hub services provide full redundancies on the equipment and network supporting them, including the international pipe to primary and secondary data centers.
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