FNG Exclusive Interview… Following our exclusive report yesterday that leading Switzerland based online trading firm Swissquote had received a CIF license from regulator CySEC for its new Cyprus based subsidiary, Swissquote Capital Markets Ltd (CY), we though that this would be a good time to speak with the operation’s new CEO Elif Kundakci about her move to Swissquote, and what the company’s plans are for the new EU-facing business.

Here is what she had to say.

FNG: Hi Elif, and thanks for joining us today. Please let us know a little more about your decision to come to Swissquote.

Elif: Initially allow me to thank you for having me with you today. I see this as a step to bigger and better things. Well, Swissquote is a publicly-traded company and regulated in many reputable jurisdictions. Working for a well-established and trusted brand with more than 25 years of experience, is great for both professional and personal development.

FNG: Swissquote was already licensed in multiple jurisdictions, including Switzerland, the UK, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malta, and Singapore. Why did you decided to also set up a formal licensed operation in Cyprus?

Elif: Cyprus is a well-established business hub, especially for companies that operate in the CFDs forex industry. Also, being a Member of the European Union and through the harmonisation of rules and regulations, financial businesses that are established in Cyprus or any other EU jurisdiction are allowed, by means of a process known as ‘passporting’, to provide their services in other European jurisdictions without incurring additional regulatory fees. Hence, Swissquote passporting rights can be used to offer its services on a wide product range on a cross-border basis in the chosen EU territories.

FNG: Will the Cyprus operation be focused on serving retail clients, or on providing “B2B” services to other brokers such as liquidity and risk management? (Or both?)

Elif: Aside from servicing retail clients, Swissquote also has plans to expand its set of operations in the business-to-business sector. Initially, we will focus our efforts on growing the retail EU customer base; nevertheless, we will eventually provide trade execution and liquidity solutions to institutional clients as well.

FNG: How do you see the FX and CFDs business having evolved during this period of high market volatility in 2022, not to mention what’s going on in the crypto world and with MetaTrader being removed from the App Store? How do you see clients’ needs evolving going forward – and what is Swissquote doing in that regard?

Elif: No doubt that the removal of MetaTrader from the App Store caused some concerns in the trading world, however we, as Swissquote, are trying always to accommodate all the needs of our investors. Therefore, always being one step ahead of the latest technology and the extremely dynamic market of the financial industry, we offer alternative trading solutions such as our in-house developed platform, Advance Trader.

FNG: What else can we expect to hear from Swissquote in the coming months?

Elif: We aim as Swissquote Group to provide our clients access to trade an extensive range of asset classes that includes CFDs, stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, derivatives and more.