In a surprise note to Japanese clients, the Swiss arm of Dukascopy Bank has informed Japanese clients that it is terminating its business in the country. The announcement comes as a surprise after the company has officially been looking to acquire a regulated subsidiary in the country in January. At the time the company was eyeing the Japanese subsidiary of Alpari.
retail foreign Exchange market in Japan is tightly regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Authority
The retail foreign exchange market in Japan is tightly regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Authority and there have been no indications that Dukascopy Bank has a license to operate in the country until now.
The client note which Dukascopy has sent out to its Japanese customers states that the firm has taken a decision to stop providing its services to residents of Japan. No new trades have been possible since Monday, June the 21st, while clients have been advised that they have until the 4th of July to close their existing positions.
All of the customers of Dukascopy Bank have been asked to submit withdrawal requests in order to proceed with closing their accounts.
With the issue of the official announcement the company is indirectly confirming that it has been conducting some business in the country. Finance Magnates reporters have contacted a company representative for a comment, but at the time of publication have not received an official reply.
The firm's localized Japanese website is operating at least since 2005, according to Google's internet archive service Wayback Machine. However, there is no clarity since when has the company been accepting clients from the country.
White label solutions
Dukascopy Bank has been providing its technology to a couple of brokers operating in Japan. Back in 2013 the Swiss bank has announced a partnership with the Japanese subsidiary of AvaTrade and local broker AFT FX to provide its Forex platform in the country.
To date only the second partnership remains listed on the website of Dukascopy where the platform is offered under a different brand name. The website of the Japanese subsidiary of AvaTrade is currently listing MT4 and the in-house solution AvaTrader in addition to Mirror Trader for automated trading.
Yesterday, Finance Magnates published an extensive breakdown of the Swiss broker's earnings for last year which revealed stagnating revenues and profitability - a possible reason for the former CEO of the company Alain Broyon to have parted with the firm last September.
