Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ( BaFin )
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) brings together under one roof the supervision of banks and financial services providers, insurance undertakings and securities trading.
It is an autonomous public-law institution and is subject to the legal and technical oversight of the Federal Ministry of Finance. It is funded by fees and contributions from the institutions and undertakings under its supervision. BaFin is managed by an Executive Board.
BaFin acts in the public interest. Its main objective is to ensure the proper functioning, stability and integrity of Germany’s financial system. Bank customers, insurance policyholders and investors should be able to trust the financial system.
BaFin’s staff work in Bonn and Frankfurt am Main. They supervise banks, financial services institutions, payment institutions, e-money institutions, German branches of foreign credit institutions from the European Economic Area, insurers, Pensionsfonds, German asset managers and German funds. All the related figures can be found in the current annual report.
BaFin’s solvency supervision activities help, for example, to counteract risks to the assets entrusted to institutions. In addition, BaFin’s market supervision aims to safeguard fair and transparent conditions in the markets and to ensure collective consumer protection. This extends to all the products and financial services that fall under BaFin’s supervision.
Why Is the BaFin Warning the Public About These Brokers?
Licensing Issues
Many of these brokers have no license or are transgressing the terms of their license by opening accounts for customers in areas they have no authorization to offer services. Some of these brokers have expired licenses and are still trying to pass off these licenses as legitimate. Others are clone brokers that are imitating regulated brokers by adopting similar names.
Misleading Information
One common thread behind most types of scams are misleading statements. Fake claims are a way of attracting customers desperate to make some extra money and who are more likely to listen to hyped up promises than check for actual credentials. Many of these brokers claim their customers will make a certain percentage returns every month, but this claim is misleading, because no broker can guarantee a specific level of return on investment.
Lack of Transparency
Most of these brokers don’t have actual names, addresses or company histories. That’s because much of this information is manufactured with stock photos, false locations or counterfeit biographies. Some don’t bother offering any identities, fake or real, but are certain people will open accounts even though they have no transparency.
Questionable Activities
BaFin ensures all financial companies operating in Germany comply with regulations. Brokers may end up on this list because of bypassing laws, such as minimums for market capitalization, offering higher than permitted leverage and other violations. These questionable activities may not transgress laws, but can be highly problematic, such as using aggressive marketing tactics, such as spamming or pressuring people to invest more money even after losses.
Account Problems
Imagine signing up for a brokerage account only to realize that you have no access to your funds. The brokers on this list may claim that withdrawals aren’t allowed until clients make a minimum amount of money or that they have to pay a huge transaction fee. Others may ignore withdrawal requests or freeze clients out of their accounts suddenly.
Customer Complaints
We are all familiar with customer review sites, but BaFin is more discriminating about the reviews it receives. Before alerting the public about a broker, BaFin investigates claims and validates that there is a basis for them. Valid complaints are an important red flag for identifying suspicious brokers as frauds.
Stay Away From Unregulated Brokers
BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator has flagged the following brokers as suspected scams. Do you have an account with any of these brokers? We recommend that you close the account and seek a refund immediately. If this proves difficult, speak to Report Scam Online experts and we can assist you in seeking legal action.