The total compensation sought by forex traders from brokerages across the world declined by 17% to $12.4 million last year. However, those that sought reparations from members of the Financial Commission (FinaCom), the world's first external dispute resolution (EDR) body for the forex industry, jumped 76% to $7.4 million.

FinaCom disclosed the figures in its 2022 Annual Complaints Summary published on Wednesday. The document follows Finance Magnates' recent report that forex traders sought 3% less compensation from all brokers during the last quarter of 2022 as the numbers declined to $3.3 million. In contrast, compensation demanded from FinaCom member brokers surged by 66% during the quarter.

FinaCom Expands Global Presence in 2022

Meanwhile, in the annual report, FinaCom mentioned that it had expanded its international presence by 30% in 2022 compared to the prior year. The organization approved 13 forex brokers as new members and also certified one technology provider during the period.

These include brokerages such as Vida Markets, ThreeTrader, Fullerton Markets, TMGM, Bold Prime and Vantage. Other brokers such as Pepperstone, Agra Markets and Inveslo became FinaCom members in 2022. However, Fiber Markets, LordFX and EGMarkets were expelled from the Commission last year. In addition, FinaCom terminated GANN Markets’s membership in April 2022 following the Montenegro-based forex broker's application for its status to be withdrawn.

Furthermore, FinaCom said it had gained more popularity in Asia, Latin America and Europe despite “rising market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty” in the past year. In these regions, new complaints from forex and CFDs brokers increased by 47%, 38% and 30%, respectively. Although, new complaints from Russia and former Soviet republics slipped further by 38% during the past year as “local market restrictions remained in place.”

FinaCom Reports the Fastest Average Resolution Time since 2013

According to FinaCom, the average resolution time it spent on complaints in 2022 was 5.6 days, which is the quickest time frame it has achieved since it was founded in 2013.

The forex industry mediator said it achieved the record-breaking time frame despite the fact that the total number of complaints filed by forex traders against brokers during the period increased by 26% to a record 3,026 complaints. Moreover, the dispute resolutioner resolved 27% more complaints in 2022, with the number reaching 2,968 complaints.

“The majority of complaints in 2022 were related to non-trading issues with 58% of the total, while financial related disputes accounted for 29% and trading related complaints 13%. The most popular topics for complaints dealt with account blocking (29%), funds withdrawal (19%), price check (14%), non-market quotes (7%) and stop-out orders (6%),” FinaCom explained.

Also, the EDR body pointed out that of all resolved complaints, 42% were ruled in favour of brokers while 16% favored forex traders. In addition, FinCom said it found over half of the complaints (52%) to be outside its jurisdiction.