Deriv appears to be seeking a banking licence from the regulator in St Vincent and the Grenadines. According to the regulatory registry, the contracts for differences (CFD) broker established a separate entity on the island in June 2023, and its banking licence is currently “pending approval.”
Deriv’s Big Plans in SVG
Notably, Deriv already has another registered unit in SVG through which it can onboard CFD traders.
The SVG regulator does not issue any explicit brokerage licence; rather, it allows firms to offer leveraged trading only with incorporation. However, the island’s regulator asked locally operated forex and CFD brokers to verify their overseas registrations. This made an external brokerage licence mandatory for any broker operating with SVG as its base.
FinanceMagnates.com reached out to Deriv to learn about its plans regarding the banking licence, but did not receive any response as of press time.
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A Regulated Expansion
Deriv, which has its roots in 1999 when it operated under a different brand, is a heavily licensed broker with regulatory authorisations in Malta, Malaysia’s Labuan, Vanuatu, the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius, and the Cayman Islands.
It also obtained a full brokerage (Cat 1) licence from the regulator in Dubai and started onboarding traders under that licence last year.
The broker also opened its second Cyprus office in late 2024. Based in Nicosia, the new site functions as a technology development centre, where teams focus on artificial intelligence, data analytics, and software development.
Last year, Deriv’s founder, Jean-Yves Sireau, stepped down from the role of co-CEO, putting Rakshit Choudhary in the top role. The leadership change appears to have been well planned, as Choudhary was elevated to the co-CEO role in early 2024.
Sireau, however, remains Deriv's majority shareholder.
Like many other major brokers, Deriv is broadening its offerings. In 2023, it launched its institutional arm, Deriv Prime, which provides liquidity to other industry participants. In 2022, the firm introduced its white label service under the Deriv X brand.
