Pepperstone, a global Forex and CFDs broker, has received a financial services license from the German regulator BaFin, the brokerage confirmed to Finance Magnates.
The brokerage is highlighting the move as a part of its global growth strategy. Indeed, its approach to receiving a local German license also aligns with its ambition to better serve the German and Austrian markets.
“This is a significant milestone for Pepperstone,” Pepperstone CEO Tamas Szabo said in a statement. “Expanding our global reach has been an important focus for us in recent years. Widening our reach in Europe was a natural step for us in this journey. Securing the BaFin license further solidifies our commitment to expanding our offering for German and Austrian clients.”
Pepperstone, however, did not provide any further details on the localized German operation.
Preparation for Brexit
This came at a time when the broker is preparing for furthering its global growth plans in the European Union. Pepperstone now offers its services in European countries by passporting its United Kingdom license under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that it received in 2015.
After the complete divorce of the UK from the EU in the coming months, passporting rights of licenses between the UK and EU will be scrapped.
Finance Magnates earlier reported that the Australian brokerage is also seeking a CIF license from the Cyprus regulator to continue its European operations post-Brexit.
Notably, Pepperstone is also regulated under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in the UAE, and the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) in the Bahamas.
