iForex shuts Israel operation

Israel based retail forex broker iForex has posted a notice on its website serving customers in its home country (see above) that it has decided to pull its Forex broker license application in Israel, and to terminate its brokerage operations in the country effective immediately.

iForexClients of iForex.co.il , operated by Clio Financial Trading Ltd., can no longer open any new positions but can close existing positions.

All open trades will be closed by the company (if not done so by clients) next Monday June 6 at 23:59 local time.

Sources close to the situation informed LeapRate that the decision taken by iForex Israel management was based mainly on the realization that the (relatively) new regulations governing retail forex transactions with Israeli clients – such as banning bonuses – were simply too onerous to justify a local business, based on the size of the local market.

Israel business paper Calcalist reports that iForex Israel was operated by a third party (the aforementioned Clio Financial Trading Ltd.), not the F.I.H. Formula Investment House Clearing Ltd which operates the global iForex brand. The Israeli company had taken an NIS 5 million (USD $1.3 million) loan from F.I.H. Formula to get things started in Israel. It will be repaying the loan as part of the agreement to shut down iForex Israel.

As we’ve pointed out before, key elements of the new Israeli Forex regulations include:

  • No bonuses or other gifts may be granted to clients.
  • Deposits by clients can be made by bank/wire transfer or credit card only, not by debit card.
  • All brokers must ask clients to view and sign a conflicts-of-interest policy, at least once each year.
  • Leverage limits:
    • 100:1 on Forex pairs and Gold trading
    • 40:1 on Equity Indices
    • 20:1 on all other instruments

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