Plus500 does not get Bulgarian regulation

Plus500 does not get Bulgarian regulation

Plus500 does not get Bulgarian regulation

Bulgaria’s Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) has denied an investment intermediary license to the local branch of the forex and CFD broker Plus500 – Plus500 BG. The FSC does not give reasons for its decision, but from the publication on the regulator’s site transpires that the company is in the process of establishing.
So far Plus500 has been operating in Bulgaria through its Cyprus-regulated subsidiary, but obviously has taken steps towards setting up a local company. The reason most likely is the recent decision of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to prohibit the brokers under its supervision to have call centers soliciting clients. According to our sources, several others Cyprus-regulated brokers have also applied for a Bulgarian license. It grants them the right to operate throughout the EU under the passporting rules.
At the same time, Plus500 has had a call center and support agents in Bulgaria for a while. The company operating it is a different one –  Plus500BOS EOOD. According to filings with the London Stock Exchange where the brokerage is traded, this is a subsidiary located in Sofia and provides only operational services. Hence, it is not regulated. Currently the call center employs over 100 people and is hiring more.
Plus500 offers trading in forex, options, contracts for difference (CFDs), commodities, indices, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It operates its own online trading platform for CFDs available in over 31 languages on desktop and Android, Windows and iOS mobile operating systems. The broker is regulated in five countries – the UK, Cyprus, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.