CySEC gives brokers a report break because of Covid-19

Since last year, the Cypriot regulator has requested brokers to report on trade volumes in all asset classes and investment instruments. However, the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic prompted the Cypriot regulator to make concessions and soften the requirements a little.

A recent statement issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) said that due to events related to coronavirus infection (COVID-19), deadlines for submitting to CySEC of Form 87-03-01 (Annual Fees Calculation Form), which includes the Appendix with an extract from the audited financial statements with the total trade turnover for the reporting year and confirmation of payment of the annual fee must be submitted by the end of July 2020. 

CySEC made the same request for submitting volume data last year. It is considered to be one of the highest authority regulators in the industry.

New rules

In 2018, CySEC appealed to all Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF) with a request to report trading volumes for all classes of instruments. And in March 2019, it was announced that all CIF companies should fill out a new form with details on trading volumes for the whole of 2018.

They had to break down volumes into subclasses of assets and include all trading operations, including with retail traders, professional traders and counterparties. In addition, companies need to provide information on margin trading, including borrowed funds.

Also, brokers need to distinguish between transactions that their customers made on their own and transactions that the broker made on their behalf. However, market makers will most likely leave these fields blank to avoid double counting. They should present their statistics in the section on client trading.

Earlier, the deadline for reporting was April 12. The regulator has extended the term, but there will be no new benefits. Companies that do not submit reports before the specified time will be fined.

The Financial Conduct Authority has also made some concessions recently, regarding the reporting requirements. FCA declared not to take any coercive measures against the firms, who did not publish reports on April 1.

However, the current situation in the world, which becomes severe day after day, shows no signs of slowing down, but people and countries are hopeful, it will be over by the end of May.