Capital.com has paused the onboarding of new UK client accounts. The broker, which is based in London but has offices and operations around the globe, made the announcement via a notice on its website.
In which it said:
“We have made the decision to pause onboarding new clients in the UK for now”
Adding that
“We have grown rapidly as a business and we want to make sure that all our systems, controls, products and services are provided to the high standards that are demanded by our clients, management, shareholders and regulators”
Capital.com did not provide any additional details, nor did it specify how long it would be until it was able to accept new UK business.
In a statement to the media, Capital.com portrayed the decision as a proactive one which would allow it to ensure that its systems controls, products and services met the stringent standards demanded by our valued clients management, shareholders, and regulators.
FCA and Consumer Duty
The last group is the most important of course. The FCA has been kicking the tyres of the financial services industry in 2024, to see just how firms are meeting their obligations under the Consumer Duty regulations, that were introduced in July last year.
The regulator has also been keen to promote a culture where UK firms are managed and operated in the UK, in which London-based businesses are genuine profit centres rather than just clearing houses, for an offshore parent company or companies.
Part of Capital.com’s revenue streams come from rebates and service charges it receives from its parent business, for its role as a matched principal broker in CFD and spread betting markets.
Not the first broker to suspend onboarding in the UK
Capital.com is not the first margin trading business to suspend the onboarding of new UK accounts.
Trading 212 was forced to stop creating new accounts in January 2021 at the height of the meme stock mania.
As thousands of would-be clients tried to open commission-free share trading accounts, with the Bulgarian-owned broker.
It took many months and significant investment in systems, staff and procedures, before Trading 212 was able to re-open to new UK clients.
A different trading environment
Early 2024 is a very different retail trading environment to early 2021 of course.
And though some markets are booming, such as ODTE, or zero days to expiry options, in the US, they are not products that UK retail clients can easily trade.
Rival IG Group recently posted its third-quarter revenue update, in which it said that its active client numbers were up by around +3000 over the prior quarter. a growth rate of approximately +1.0%.
If IG Group hadn’t experienced significant growth in UK client numbers and new accounts, over the prior quarter, then it’s hard to imagine that Capital.com would have.
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