AMF ban will not have a "material impact" on business
Companies: IG Group Holdings plc
The UK's largest spread betting platform IG Group has told investors it believes tighter restrictions on CFD products by French regulator (AMF) will not have a "material impact" on its business.
In the latest development to the ongoing CFD crackdown, French regulator the Autorité des Marchés Financiers has banned all electronic marketing for forex and binary option trading products.
READ: CFD platforms get a bloody nose from FCA...
The company said the restrictions, which relate to limit loss positions and the ability of users to enter a negative balance, wouldn't have an impact on the current client base, stating that accounts in France already meet the new requirements.
IG Group says the changes could ultimately improve the company's position within France:
"Overall, the Company does not believe these restrictions will have a material negative impact on its business in France in the short term and could ultimately enhance the Company's future competitive position in the country.
IG believes the AMF's approach will provide substantial protection for consumers and greatly improve standards in the sector. IG supports robust and proportionate regulatory oversight of the CFD sector in all the markets in which it operates. The Company has operated and will continue to operate to the highest standards in the industry."
IGG's share price fell more than 40% on 5 December when the FCA announced it was going to tighten regulations on the CFD market in the UK. The stock has since recovered 17%.
Shares in Plus500 and CMC Markets, the other two largest CFD providers in the UK, also fell 35% and 49% respectively, before both recovering markedly.
