The Russian Central Bank’s First Deputy Governor Sergey Shvetsov has just concluded an online streaming session, sharing some of his views on the retail Forex industry in the country. Speaking to readers via an open Facebook session, Shvetsov expressed a strong opinion that the central bank is willing to limit forex trading services provision to qualified investors.
Commenting on the market in general, Shvetsov said that claims of making “easy” money on the financial markets are very exaggerated. He highlighted the forex market, stating that its zero-sum game nature should make investors more cautious, since in order to make money, another party on the market would have to lose the same amount.
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Shvetsov also outlined that the regulator is implementing Negative Balance protection into the regulatory framework for forex brokers. The measure doesn’t affect professional investors which should bear full responsibility for their losses.
Commenting on the number of forex dealer licenses available to Russian brokers, Shvetsov said that the central bank is not particularly excited about the business. Making parallels between forex trading and gambling, he outlined that aggressive advertising is attracting financially illiterate individuals to the market.
“We don’t oppose people getting an adrenaline rush from trading on the forex market, but we are against people losing their money without realizing they are playing in a financial casino,” Shvetsov explained.
“We will apply careful due diligence when licensing forex brokers, aiming to limit the growth of this business in the Russian Federation. The growth in this financial markets sector is not specific to Russia as other jurisdictions are encountering problems with the market. Our near-term plans are to make these services available only to qualified investors. Forex brokers will not be able to attract unqualified investors, a move that will conserve the savings of our citizens,” he concluded.
