FX week in review: CySEC warns CIFs, Alvexo license, Devexperts hires, NAGA borrows $6M, Route28 launch

Gerald Segal 0 Comments October 29, 2023

A very busy week of FX and CFD industry news was headlined by regulator action, hirings at a number of brokers and tech/service providers, financings, as well as the launch of a new player in the prime brokerage space, backed by some of the leading names in the business.

What warning did Cyprus regulator CySEC hand out to board members of CIF licensed brokers?

Why did NAGA Group borrow $6 million?

Who is behind the launch of a new Synthetic Prime Brokerage called Route28?

Some of the most read and commented-on FX industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:

CySEC issues warning to Board Members of Cyprus investment firms. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has warned Board Members of Cyprus investment Firms (CIFs) of their role and responsibility to enhance their performance and promote a culture of integrity and high ethical standards following supervisory actions that exposed gaps in compliance. CySEC has already issued a series of warnings to the industry following the introduction of stricter supervision measures. The Chairman of CySEC, Dr George Theocharides, stressed there would be no tolerance for CIFs that do not comply with the regulatory framework.

NAGA Group borrows $6 million to repay Convertible Notes due Oct 30. Hamburg based, social trading focused online brokerage NAGA Group AG (ETR:N4G) has announced that it has taken out a loan (without conversion rights) from an unnamed institutional investor with a term of 12 months. While NAGA didn’t specify the exact amount of the loan, it did state that the proceeds were to be used in partial repayment of the $8.2 million, 6-month loan it took out in April 2023, via an issue of convertible bonds made by NAGA, as was exclusively reported at the time here at FNG. NAGA stated that it negotiated an adjustment in terms on the convertible bonds (which become due with interest on October 30), such that $6 million will be repaid on time next week, and a further $2.7 million (including accrued interest) will be repaid on January 30, 2024.

Hidden Road launches Synthetic Prime Brokerage offering Route28. Institutional risk management specialist Hidden Road, the global credit network for institutions, has announced an expansion of its partnership with crypto solutions provider Crossover Markets in launching Route28, a new Synthetic Prime Brokerage. Route28’s offering will cover OTC Swaps across all major asset classes, including FX, Equities, Commodities, Digital Assets, Energy and Rates. The new offering is run out of Hidden Road’s FCA-regulated UK entity, Hidden Road Partners CIV UK Ltd, with front-end and matching technology provided by Crossover Markets.

XTB sees Revenues ($65M) and Profits ($29M) stable in Q3 2023. Poland based Retail FX and CFDs broker XTB SA (WSE:XTB) has reported its financial results for Q3 2023, indicating a fairly stable quarter as compared to Q2 at XTB – Revenues were down slightly by 4% QoQ, but Net Profit was up slightly by 2%. But in the big picture of an industry famous for large ups-and-downs in quarterly results, again a fairly stable quarter for XTB.