Last week was busy in the financial services sector as several companies turned their numbers, along with other news pouring in from crypto and fintech companies. Finance Magnates has shortlisted some of the most impact-full news from the forex, fintech and crypto industries.
European Parliament Committee Rejects Bitcoin Ban
In a massive move, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) has rejected a bill that aimed to ban Bitcoin (BTC) in the European Union. Thirty-two members of the Parliament voted against, and 24 were in favour.
The majority of MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP), the European Conservatives and Reformists (ERC), Renew Europe (Renew) and Identity and Democracy (ID) voted against it. In contrast, a minority of MEPs from Greens, S&D and GUE mainly voted in favour.
Read more on the European Parliament Committee’s voting on the proposed Bitcoin ban here.
TP ICAP to Launch Electronic FX Trading Platform in Singapore
TP ICAP Group has launched an electronic Foreign Exchange trading platform in Singapore. In addition, the company is receiving support from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for the upcoming services.
The platform will be based on TP ICAP’s Fusion interface and will initially offer institutional clients to trade in Asian 1 Month Non-Deliverable Forwards (NDF). Additionally, it has concrete plans for expansion by including FX Forwards and additional tenors in Asian NDFs.
Read more on TP ICAP Singapore e-FX platform here.
ApeCoin by Yuga Labs Is Launching Today, Listed at the Top Crypto Exchanges
Yuga Labs has released its very own cryptocurrency, ApeCoin, an ERC-20 governance and utility token. Yuga Labs is the owner of the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC), CryptoPunks and Meebits following the acquisition of the rights from Larva Labs.
The Bored Apes NFT collection value was boosted following the acquisition, attaining a floor price of 107 ETH. At the time of writing, BAYC NFTs are among the most sought collections in the market.
Read more on ApeCoin here.
Swissquote Confirms Record Growth in 2021, Operating Revenues Climb 49% YoY
Swissquote, a Switzerland-based online financial services provider, confirmed its record growth in 2021, with a substantial YoY jump in operating revenues. In its recent annual results, the company reported operating revenues of CHF 479.6 million, which is 49 percent higher compared to 2020.
Moreover, net revenues and pre-tax profit saw a sharp surge during the mentioned period. Swissquote recently published its guidance for 2022 and a medium-term outlook for 2025. After experiencing solid customer growth during the first two months of this year, the Swiss company is expecting net revenues of CHF 475 million in 2022.
Read more about Swissquote's 2021 financials here.
IG Group's Q3 FY22 Revenue Jumps 13%, Active Clients Hit Record
IG Group Holdings plc (LON: IGG) reported a 13 percent jump in its revenue between December and February, which is the third quarter of the financial year for the company. The broker generated £257.2 million in the three months.
Out of the total, £219.3 came from IG’s over-the-counter (OTC) leveraged derivatives business, which jumped by 4 percent from the same quarter of the prior year. However, stock trading and investment revenue dropped by 54 percent to £6.6 million.
Read more on IG's Q3 revenue here.
TP ICAP Sees 81% Drop in 2021 Profits, Revenue Rises Marginally
TP ICAP, the world’s biggest inter-deal broker, published its annual financials for 2021, reporting more than an 81 percent drop in its profits for the 12 months. It generated £24 million as pre-tax profits last year compared to 2020’s figure of £129 million.
Additionally, the basic earnings per share of the company plunged to 0.7 pence from 15.4 pence in the prior year.
Read more on TP ICAP's 2021 financials here.
CMC Markets Launches £30 Million Share Buyback Program
CMC Markets (LON: CMCX) launched its share buyback program last Tuesday with an allocation of £30 million, the London-headquartered broker announced. This step has been taken to reduce the share capital of the company.
It has detailed that the maximum aggregate number of shares it is trying to repurchase is 29,071,747 ordinary shares. It has already appointed RBC Europe Limited to manage the Buyback Programme on its behalf.
Read more on CMC Markets' buyback program here.
German Prosecutors Indict Wirecard’s Former CEO
German prosecutors from Munich filed charges against Markus Braun, the former Chief Executive Officer of Wirecard, concerning the firm’s collapse in 2021. Braun was charged with fraud, misappropriation of corporate assets, accounting fraud and market manipulation.
Braun was first arrested two years ago, but he was only charged recently after unsealing a 474-page indictment. The AP reports that prosecutors in Munich allege that he signed off on financial statements he knew to be false, and the company booked revenue that did not exist.
Read more on Wirecard's former CEO's indictment here.
Israel Fintech Sector Witnesses Strong Funding Figures in 2021
The Israeli fintech sector is receiving a massive boost as investments in startups and companies of the industry hit $4.5 billion over the year.
The surge implied a 136% increase from 2020, where fintech startups and firms received $1.9 billion in funding.
Read more on Israeli fintech funding here.
EU Regulators Warn against ‘Highly Risky and Speculative’ Crypto Assets
Multiple financial market regulators within the European Union released a joint warning statement against crypto-assets, saying many of them are “highly risky and speculative.” They further said crypto-assets are neither suited for retail investments nor can be used for payments.
The warning was issued by three European regulators: European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).
Read more on EU regulators' warning against crypto assets here.
Analysis: December Brings Lower FX Deposits and Higher Withdrawals
The final month of 2021 brought an awaited slowdown in raising forex deposits. Finance Magnates Intelligence took a look at the December 2021 data, provided by cPattern. What are the conclusions and the annual summary?
First of all, December was the second straight month of decline for the average total deposits made in a month by average retail traders (for the top 10 countries in each category). This time it was $13,257 on average, which is down from $13,668 deposited in November. Still, it was the 3rd highest result in 2021.
Read more on Finance Magnates FX deposit and withdrawal analysis here.
Former CEO and Founder of BitBay Is Reportedly Missing
In a shock to the industry, Sylwester Suszek, the Founder and former CEO of Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay (currently Zonda), has reportedly gone missing. The police from Katowice, Poland, said that he left his home on Thursday for a business meeting and drove off in an unknown direction, but he has not reached out to his family since then.
The executive is known for having founded a company where journalists from local media found that some shareholders had criminal records, with convictions for pimping and VAT fraud.
Read more on the disappearance of BitBay's Founder and former CEO here.
