Fazzaco Weekly Digest: Executives Moves in H1 2023; Aftermath of SVG FSA's Regulatory Changes; ADSS Is Winding Down UK Operation

1. Fazzaco Talks to Leaders: The Aftermath of SVG FSA's Regulatory Blitz on FX Brokers​

In January 2023, the Financial Services Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG FSA), a Caribbean island country and a well-known offshore financial center, requested all companies wishing to register in the country and engage in forex trading in the future to provide a copy of a necessary license from a jurisdiction where they conduct FX practices; companies that have already registered with FSA and are currently engaged in FX have a 45-day "transition period" (until March 10, 2023) to provide FSA with a copy of the necessary license from their current jurisdiction of business.

Fazzaco published an article "SVG FSA Steps up Regulations on FX Activity, What Does It Mean to Brokers?" in the first time. Now, four months have passed since the deadline set by SVG FSA on March 10, and Fazzaco contacted several compliance companies engaged in forex brokerage licensing last month and conducted an exclusive investigation into the views and insights of the industry, especially compliance companies, on this incident.

2. A Dynamic Report of 37 Executives of 25 Brokers & Fintechs Since June 2023

As 2023 is more than halfway through, Fazzaco continues to monitor the executive moves of several forex brokers and fintechs in the financial community this year. Notably, Fazzaco also launched the "Jobs in Forex" feature, which regularly updates the hiring information of brokers and fintechs.

In this article, we present a statistical analysis of the forex executive moves from June 2023 to date (July 13). The data shows that in the first month and a half of the second half of the year, the overall executive moves were mainly driven by hiring and promoting, reflecting the industry's current regional stability and business expansion.

3. ADSS Is Winding Down UK Operation​

ADSS, Abu Dhabi-based retail and institutional FX & CFDs broker, is closing its UK operation, ADS Securities London Ltd (ADSSL), in order to refocus its resources on other entities within the Group.

In October, Fazzaco reported that ADSSL experienced a 34 percent year-on-year decline in its revenues (excluding Transfer Pricing) for fiscal 2021, ending on December 31 2021.

4. UK to Ban "Refer-a-Friend" Bonus

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled new steps to strengthen its oversight of unlawful and non-compliant financial promotions, especially those on the internet. The FCA is worried about the rising impact of influencers and the potential risk of losses for consumers due to unauthorised promotions.

The FCA said that from October 8, 2023, it will ban incentives to invest in crypto, such as a "refer-a-friend" bonus. Additionally, the company must give a clear risk warning and enforce a 24-hour cooling-off period to give investors time to reflect on their investment decisions. These steps are in line with the protections enforced on other high-risk investments.

5. MultiBank Group Obtains CySEC License, Expects to Go Public in 2023​

MultiBank Group, a global leading FX and CFD broker headquartered in Dubai, has announced that its newly established European subsidiary, MEX Europe Ltd, has been granted a license by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to operate in the region.

With this CySEC authorization, the brokerage firm currently has regulatory approvals from 12 global regulators including SCA, MAS, CySEC, ASIC, AUSTRAC, BaFin, FMA, FSC, CIMA, TFG, and VFSC.

6. MetaTrader Auto-Startup: Why Is It Important and How It Works?​

When trading with Expert Advisors it is important for your PC to be online as much as possible. But sometimes we just must restart our computers, for example to install updates. Some might argue that installing updates is a waste of time, but it is critical for your information security: you want systems working with money to be always updated. Why? Because hackers can use known vulnerabilities to get into your computer and steal your financial information. Installing updates allows you to mitigate this particular risk. Windows even has a built-in mechanism to simplify all that for you and protect you as much as it can: by default, it installs updates and reboots automatically.

Those automatic installations and reboots happen when you don't actively use your computer, usually when there's no one around, often at night. But what if you have Expert Advisors actively trading on the Asian session?

7. ComplyAdvantage Announces Launch of New KYB Solution

ComplyAdvantage, a global data technology company transforming financial crime detection, announced the launch of a new KYB (Know Your Business) solution designed to help organizations assess cooperative security and automate risk management processes.

By automating most of the process, KYB by ComplyAdvantage will reduce the time required for banks, brokers and other financial services firsm for background checks when opening a business account. The regtech firm added that, once the company creates a new customer profile, KYB automatically checks the name against business registries and fills in all the key information about the business executives.