Forex Brokers in Germany

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Forex trading is popular amongst German residents who are looking to buy and sell currencies to speculate on falling and rising prices in the forex market. Although German traders can use any forex broker that accepts German clients, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is the financial regulatory authority for Germany. BaFin brings together under one roof the supervision of banks and financial services providers, insurance undertakings and securities trading.

Best forex brokers Germany

To find the best forex brokers in Germany, we created a list of all regulated brokers that accept German clients, then ranked them according to their overall rating. Below is our list of our top forex brokers for Germany.

Broker

Rating

Regulated

Min. Deposit

Founded

Max. Leverage

1.

ASIC, BaFin, CFTC, DFSA, FCA, FINMA, FMA, FSA, FSCA, JFSA, MAFF, MAS, METI, NFA

$250

1974

1:200

Review Trade Trade

70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.

2.

ASIC, BaFin, CMA, CySEC, DFSA, FCA, SCB

$200

2010

1:400

Review Trade Trade

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

3.

BaFin

$200

1997

1:30

Review Trade Trade

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

4.

BaFin

$1

2015

N/A

Review Trade Trade

Investing carries risk and you may receive back less than your original investment.

5.

BaFin

$1

2006

1:30

Review Trade Trade

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

BaFin forex brokers in Germany

Germany has two national regulators that are responsible for authorizing and supervising banks, insurers and certain other financial sector companies ̶ the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) and the German Federal Bank (“Deutsche Bundesbank”).

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority better known by its abbreviation BaFin is the financial regulatory authority for Germany. It is an independent federal institution with headquarters in Bonn and Frankfurt and falls under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

It was established in the year 2002 with an amalgamation of The Federal Banking Supervisory Office, Federal Insurance Supervisory Office and The Federal Securities Supervisory Office. The independent regulatory body has stringent rules in favour of protecting investors as well as ensuring that service providers such as BaFin forex broker must operate in an honest and transparent manner.

BaFin operates in the public interest. Its primary objective is to ensure the proper functioning, stability and integrity of the German financial system. Bank customers, insurance policyholders and investors ought to be able to trust the financial system.

It takes into account the management, minimum capital requirements, reliability, solid leadership, and the sustainability of the business when approving licenses.

The Central Compliance Office at BaFin works towards compliance with applicable statutes and other provisions relating to data protection, corruption prevention and sponsoring. To this end, it advises BaFin employees and takes preventative measures. BaFin has the power to initiate legal action in the event that investigations reveal any inconsistencies in the financial sector.

One of the main pillars that exists within BaFin is the Consumer Advisory Council that is in charge of collecting and analysing information on the financial markets and ensuring that investors and traders are not exposed to any form of foul play. The major risks that investors face while dealing in the financial markets sector include insider trading, price manipulation and mismanagement of funds.

How to verify BaFin regulated brokers in Germany

BaFin is Germany’s financial regulator, and is responsible for regulating banks, insurance firms, financial institutions, as well as forex brokerages based in Germany. If you are a German resident, you can still trade with a non-BaFin regulated forex broker but you may not get the same protection.

To identify if a forex broker is authorised to operate in Germany, you need to first identify the brokers regulation number from the disclosure text which is usually at the bottom of the brokers homepage. Once you have that, you can look up the brokerage with the BaFin register to validate if the broker is licensed in Germany.

Is forex trading legal in Germany?

Germany puts a lot of effort into fostering a business-friendly climate, but regulation is necessary because it gives market participants fair terms and security. Germans can participate unrestrictedly in the liberalized foreign exchange market. The laws governing the Forex market are still highly tight and involve a wide range of requirements for brokers seeking, say, German accreditation.

Forex and CFD brokers must get licenses from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, or BaFin), the country’s regulatory authority, in order to operate legally in Germany. As permitted by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC, they may also be required to obtain licenses from another country as long as it is located in the European Economic Area (MiFID).

Brokers must first satisfy a number of requirements before BaFin gives authorization. A company that wants to provide financial and Forex trading services to German citizens must have enough freely available capital; capital cannot be obtained on credit. Financial services organizations must have a minimum capital of €125,000 in order to trade in financial products on behalf of their clients. Companies that buy and sell financial instruments for their own accounts must have at least €730,000 on hand.

But because Germany is an EU member, it also abides by the rules established by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). For CFDs and FX, ESMA implemented leverage and marketing limits in 2018. The maximum leverage permitted while trading major currency pairings is 30:1, whereas the maximum leverage permitted when trading non-major pairs is 20:1. Even fewer restrictions on leverage apply to CFDs on stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, etc.

Bonuses and other incentives for trading CFDs are essentially prohibited under the limits. Additionally, brokers must employ negative balance protection to guard against clients losing more money than they initially invested. In general, Forex and CFD brokers who wish to provide services to German consumers choose to do so online because they are permitted to do so by the EEA and MiFID agreements without having to have physical offices there.

The high taxation and rigorous restrictions are additional significant reasons that support this assertion. Many brokers run their businesses from other EEA nations, such the United Kingdom or Cyprus. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and CySEC, also known as the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, are two of the major local regulatory organizations in Europe.

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