A local governor in the Philippines has called on the government to start regulating the retail foreign exchange industry.
Geraldine Zamora, head of the city permits and licensing division in General Santos City, said on Tuesday that firms are operating in the country already and laws should be introduced to govern their behavior.
Speaking to a local radio station, Zamora noted that the municipal government in General Santos has permitted ten FX brokers to run Online Trading platforms in the past year.
"Since they already exist, it's about time that the government should come up with regulatory policies," the city governor said.
Like China, the Philippines has taken a paradoxical approach to FX brokers.
On the one hand, no laws are governing the industry, and companies are operating in the country without many problems. At the same time, the country’s financial regulator said last year that it is illegal to operate an FX brokerage.
Please regulate us!
According to Zamora, some of the firms that are already operating in Santos City have contacted her and asked her to push for regulation.
One of them, Metro GenSan Credit Cooperative, even proposed a set of rules that would include an FX broker registry and Risk Management requirements.
Zamora told the radio station that the local government is “seriously considering” implementing those rules on a local level.
In the meantime, General Santos will not be issuing any more permits to FX brokers until proper regulations are established. Companies that already have a license from the city authorities will be able to continue doing business as usual.
