Financial Commission Third-Quarter Awards Reach $113K After Later Rulings

Thursday, 12/11/2026 | 10:49 GMT by Damian Chmiel
  • The forum first reported $75,585, and decisions issued since have brought 43 rulings for traders.
  • Complaints rose 9% from the first quarter, and 36 of 84 account-access cases still await a decision.
Bar chart: Financial Commission awards to traders fell from $441,407 in Q1 to $75,585 in Q3 2026

Traders with complaints against Financial Commission members had been awarded $112,794 for the third quarter of 2026 by November 11. Rulings issued after the quarter closed added to the $75,585 the forum first reported, while complaints rose 9% from the first quarter.

The first-reported total equaled about 1.2% of the $6.22 million clients sought from member brokers, below the 3.1% recorded across 2025, an FM Intelligence analysis of the Commission's data shows.

The Commission is a private forum, not a regulator. Its Dispute Resolution Committee issues rulings that bind member brokers once a trader accepts them, and in 2025 it found the broker at fault in 76 of 1,468 complaints, or 5.2%, an earlier FM Intelligence review showed.

London's trading industry is coming home!

How the Forum Rules on Account-Access Complaints

Of 84 account-access complaints: 37 closed, 36 pending, 11 for the broker, 0 for the trader

Complaints logged as unauthorized account access rose from 43 in the second quarter to 84 in the third, with $507,602 in dispute.

Eleven have been decided on the merits, all for the broker, 37 were closed without a merits ruling and 36 are pending, Nikolai Isayev, the Commission's chief operating officer, said in written answers to FM Intelligence questions on November 11.

Nikolai Isayev
Nikolai Isayev

The Commission decides each complaint "on its individual merits rather than by a blanket rule," he said.

Public enforcement data barely register such incidents: of 6,680 regulatory updates in FM Intelligence's Fines & Warnings Tracker through November 6, 2026, seven mention phishing.

Traders bring these complaints when they hold the broker responsible for losses or withdrawals during alleged access to their account by a third party.

In the decisions issued so far, the broker has not been found responsible, "leaving the loss with the account holder," Isayev said.

Brokers have handled such cases directly. XTB made two-factor authentication mandatory in July 2025 after a client said a third party traded away about 150,000 zloty (about $38,000).

In October, OANDA Japan held withdrawals after hackers may have reached client MetaTrader logins at a server host.

Pending Cases Fell to 144 by November 11

The third-quarter figures are provisional. When the report was produced, 158 complaints were still awaiting a decision, a number that had fallen to 144 by November 11, according to the Commission.

Decisions issued since then lifted the quarter's awards, and the count "now stands at 43 trader-favorable rulings," Isayev said. The $112,794 total is still about 74% below the first quarter's published awards.

Trading-related complaints rose from 283 in the second quarter to 455 in the third, while financial complaints held at about 270, the Commission's category breakdown shows.

The Commission publishes its complaint figures every quarter, without a breakdown by broker.

FM Intelligence co-produced a June whitepaper using Commission data, which the Commission reviewed for accuracy.

The full FM Intelligence analysis shows how the outcome shares changed as decisions came in and how complaints are spread across the Commission's 49 broker members.

Traders with complaints against Financial Commission members had been awarded $112,794 for the third quarter of 2026 by November 11. Rulings issued after the quarter closed added to the $75,585 the forum first reported, while complaints rose 9% from the first quarter.

The first-reported total equaled about 1.2% of the $6.22 million clients sought from member brokers, below the 3.1% recorded across 2025, an FM Intelligence analysis of the Commission's data shows.

The Commission is a private forum, not a regulator. Its Dispute Resolution Committee issues rulings that bind member brokers once a trader accepts them, and in 2025 it found the broker at fault in 76 of 1,468 complaints, or 5.2%, an earlier FM Intelligence review showed.

London's trading industry is coming home!

How the Forum Rules on Account-Access Complaints

Of 84 account-access complaints: 37 closed, 36 pending, 11 for the broker, 0 for the trader

Complaints logged as unauthorized account access rose from 43 in the second quarter to 84 in the third, with $507,602 in dispute.

Eleven have been decided on the merits, all for the broker, 37 were closed without a merits ruling and 36 are pending, Nikolai Isayev, the Commission's chief operating officer, said in written answers to FM Intelligence questions on November 11.

Nikolai Isayev
Nikolai Isayev

The Commission decides each complaint "on its individual merits rather than by a blanket rule," he said.

Public enforcement data barely register such incidents: of 6,680 regulatory updates in FM Intelligence's Fines & Warnings Tracker through November 6, 2026, seven mention phishing.

Traders bring these complaints when they hold the broker responsible for losses or withdrawals during alleged access to their account by a third party.

In the decisions issued so far, the broker has not been found responsible, "leaving the loss with the account holder," Isayev said.

Brokers have handled such cases directly. XTB made two-factor authentication mandatory in July 2025 after a client said a third party traded away about 150,000 zloty (about $38,000).

In October, OANDA Japan held withdrawals after hackers may have reached client MetaTrader logins at a server host.

Pending Cases Fell to 144 by November 11

The third-quarter figures are provisional. When the report was produced, 158 complaints were still awaiting a decision, a number that had fallen to 144 by November 11, according to the Commission.

Decisions issued since then lifted the quarter's awards, and the count "now stands at 43 trader-favorable rulings," Isayev said. The $112,794 total is still about 74% below the first quarter's published awards.

Trading-related complaints rose from 283 in the second quarter to 455 in the third, while financial complaints held at about 270, the Commission's category breakdown shows.

The Commission publishes its complaint figures every quarter, without a breakdown by broker.

FM Intelligence co-produced a June whitepaper using Commission data, which the Commission reviewed for accuracy.

The full FM Intelligence analysis shows how the outcome shares changed as decisions came in and how complaints are spread across the Commission's 49 broker members.

About the Author: Damian Chmiel
Damian Chmiel
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About the Author: Damian Chmiel
Damian Chmiel is a Senior Analyst & Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 15 years of experience in the CFD and online trading industry. Active as both a trader and journalist since 2010, he focuses on broker coverage, fintech innovation, and regulatory developments across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His work includes interviews with C-level leaders at major brokerages and fintech platforms, as well as co-authoring Finance Magnates’ quarterly industry benchmarking reports. Damian’s reporting is data-driven, market-aware, and grounded in direct industry engagement. His analysis and commentary have also been cited by external media outlets, including Investing.com, Binance, The Asset, Stockhead, and Dispatch. Education: MA in Finance and Accounting, Cracow University of Economics
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