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Banc De Binary
Company typePrivate
IndustryFinancial Services
Founded2009
HeadquartersIsrael and Limassol, Cyprus
Key peopleOren Shabat Cohen (also known as Oren Laurent), CEO and Sarah Fenwick, Head of Communications
ProductsBinary Option Trading
Number of employeesunknown
Websitewww.bancdebinary.com/

Banc De Binary, also known as ET Binary Options Ltd., is an Israeli-Cypriot-based private option broker specializing in the trade of binary options (also known as fixed return options) on assets including commodities, stocks, indices, and foreign exchange. The company serves retail and institutional customers worldwide, where not prohibited by local regulation, which following a recent ruling by CySEC is only inside the EU. It is regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange CommissionIn June 2013 it was charged with several offenses by the CFTC and SEC; in the same press release the CFTC warned more generally of "fraudulent schemes involving binary options and their trading platforms". An investigation by the British Daily Mail newspaper journalist Tony Hetherington alleged that one client alone had $25,000 stolen from his bank account after signing up with them. The CFTC and the SEC have frozen all US accounts until further notice.

According to the CFTC, which with the SEC in June 2013 charged the company with violations of US financial services regulations, Banc de Binary operates an online trading website through which customers can buy or sell binary ("call" or "put") options, predicting whether the price of a certain commodity will increase or decrease in a given time period.

The Wall Street Journal described it as "a website that allows people to bet on the price of gold, oil or stocks".

History

In an interview, Oren Shabat Cohen stated that by June 2011 the company had around 20,000 client accounts, and in an open letter published by August 2012, he stated that number was then 200,000.

In January 2013, the company became the first regulated binary options broker, accepting European Union regulation offered by CySEC, and at the same time it stopped accepting new client accounts from the United States to begin negotiations with the CFTC for binary options regulation in the United States. Banc de Binary claimed to have an office in NY at Trump Towers, but this was in fact a virtual office space with no significant physical presence. Trading and offering financial services to US consumers without gaining a license first from US regulators is illegal, as it would mean the client would have no protection. A fully regulated broker would have oversight to ensure it's asset pricing was correct and would complete credit checks on customers to ensure that those with low finances did not trade with them. Amongst the allegations made by the SEC is that Banc de Binary induced those with very modest means, some with less than $1000 to open accounts.

Banc De Binary's new home page.
Banc De Binary's new home page.

On June 6, 2013, Banc De Binary was charged by both the CTFC and SEC for alleged violations of US financial regulations.

Regulation

Banc De Binary was licensed as an investment firm by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on 7 January 2013. The Financial Services Register maintained by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority states that from 25 February 2013 the company "is authorised or registered by ... ... and may be subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority". The company has similar licences in Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. In accordance with the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), the company has "passported" into almost all member states of the EEA; MiFID allows companies to provide financial services primarily regulated by their home state rather than the state where the customer resides, but clients based in other countries would receive nothing if the company collapsed. In the US, binary trading is legal, but only with registered organizations such as NADEX, who follow strict rules on transparency and client capital.

Products and services

Banc De Binary's One Touch trading Platform.
Banc De Binary's One Touch trading Platform.

The company offers several products and services. Traders can trade on over 200 global assets including commodities, stocks, indices, and FOREX using several variations of the trading platform including classic binary options, long term options, sixty seconds, one touch (boundary options), and pairs trading.

Awards

  • 2013, Best Binary Options Broker in the Middle East 2013, JFEX
  • 2012, Best Binary Options Customer Service, ForexTraders
  • 2011, World Finance 100, World Finance Magazine
  • 2011, Best Customer Service, FX Empire
  • 2011, Broker of the Year, Binary Options Daily
  • 2011, Platform of the Year, Binary Options Daily

US regulatory issues

On 6 June 2013, Banc De Binary was charged by both the CTFC and SEC for alleged violations of US financial regulations. Both the CTFC and SEC working in conjunction with one another filed civil suits against the company, seeking disgorgement, financial penalties and other preliminary and permanent injunctions against the company. In civil suits filed in Nevada, the SEC and CTFC allege that the company was offering off-exchange traded options to US customers and unlawfully solicited US customers to buy and sell options. The CTFC and SEC's suit also alleges that it did not limit its offerings to eligible contract participants, contrary to US regulations. In response to the US charges the company put out a statement that made no mention of its legal problems, but instead incorrectly implied that they were in negotiations and that they had voluntarily left the US market, when in fact the SEC had taken an injunction out to stop them:

In a message posted on its Web site, the company stated that

Banc De Binary is voluntarily discontinuing its operations in the United States. The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission have asserted that Banc De Binary is not permitted to offer its binary option products to U.S. residents without registering with those agencies. We are currently in discussions with the CFTC and SEC about these issues, but in the interim, we have discontinued all business with U.S. residents.

Investor advisories

Banc De Binary has a file with the United States' Better Business Bureau that was opened in 2010. It is no longer accredited, because "The BBB reports that Banc De Binary has informed them that they no longer operate any offices in the United States." Previously, it had been rated "F" due to the amount of time it had been in operation and for failing to respond to 5 of 11 customer complaints.

It appears on the US Securities and Exchange Commission's "List of Unregistered Soliciting Entities That Have Been the Subject of Investor Complaints".

In Canada, it is listed on the Ontario Securities Commission's Investors Warning List of "companies that appear to be engaging in activities that may pose a risk to investors".

After receiving "at least one complaint from a Québec investor who was unable to recover his investment", the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) warned investors about the company, saying that the AMF

is urging investors to be cautious about Banc de Binary

It noted that a bonus of 50% of the opening deposit is available, but customers who accept the bonus are not allowed to make withdrawals until they have made trades equal to 20 times their initial deposit. The AMF also pointed out that, due to the “all or nothing” nature of binary options, an investor who wrongly predicts market movement will lose his entire investment. Banc De Binary is not registered with the AMF and does not specifically target investors in Québec. The AMF also, like the CFTC, included a more general warning about the risk of fraud in binary options trading in the same press release.

External links

References

  1. ^ "U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION v. BANC DE BINARY LTD. (A/K/A E.T. BINARY OPTIONS LTD.), COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF AND FOR CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES UNDER THE COMMODITY EXCHANGE ACT AND COMMISSION REGULATIONS" (PDF). Banc de Binary's chief executive officer, Oren Shabat Cohen (a/k/a Oren Laurent), resides in Israel and is the registrant for the website www.bbinary.com.
  2. BANCDEBINARY.COM whois record, retrieved 2013-10-15. "Registrant Name: Oren Shabat Cohen"
  3. Get Out! CySEC Bans FX Firms From Accepting Non-EU Clients. Forex Magnates. Retrieved on 2013-10-16.
  4. ^ "Regulated Investment Firms – CySEC". CySEC. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ "CFTC Charges "Prediction Market" Proprietor Banc de Binary with Violating the CFTC's Off-Exchange Options Trading Ban and Operating as an Unregistered Futures Commission Merchant". Retrieved 2013-10-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  6. ^ TONY HETHERINGTON: US watchdog takes 'bank' Banc de Binary to court...but Britain lets it in. This is Money. Retrieved on 2013-10-16.
  7. "Regulators Sue Prediction Site, Allege Illegal Options". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  8. Wright, Susan (27 May 2013). "Banc De Binary CEO Oren Laurent Opens Up on Binary Options". Investment Underground. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. "Banc De Binary's CEO Oren Laurent Expresses Sincere Thanks". BinaryOptionsDaily.com. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. "Banc De Binary is first Binary Options Broker in EU". Financial Mirror. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. "Banc De Binary Quits US (For Now)". BinaryOptions.net. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. "SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION vs. BANC DE BINARY LTD, complaint" (PDF). Banc de Binary maintained a virtual office on Wall Street
  13. http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2013/lr22718.htm
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  23. "Binary Option". investopedia.com. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. "60 Second Binary Option Trading Strategy". Nancy Eleutheriou. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  25. "One-Touch Option". investopedia.com. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  26. "JEFX AWARD 2013 Winners". Jordan Forex Expo and Award 13. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  27. "FOREX industry celebrates the JFEX 2013 awards winners". ICN.com. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  28. "Forex Traders". ForexTraders.com. Retrieved Mar 1 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. "Banc De Binary World Finance 100 Profile". World Finance 100. Retrieved Aug 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  30. "FXEmpire". FXEmpire. Retrieved Jan 1 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  31. ^ "Binary Options Daily". BinaryOptionsDaily.com. Retrieved Jan 1 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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  34. "CFTC Charges "Prediction Market" Proprietor Banc de Binary with Violating the CFTC's Off-Exchange Options Trading Ban and Operating as an Unregistered Futures Commission Merchant". Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  35. Banc de Binary Ltd. (Release No. LR-22767; August 1, 2013). Sec.gov. Retrieved on 2013-10-16.
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  40. "Investors Warning List". Ontario Securities Commission. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
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