Greece

Greece supervises investment firms through the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, which licenses a domestic brokerage industry as well as overseeing EEA firms operating in the country. The rules are the standard European ones; the country's distinctive experience is about access to money rather than about products.

What the capital controls taught

Between 2015 and 2019 Greece operated capital controls that restricted cash withdrawals and, critically, transfers of funds abroad. For traders the effect was immediate and instructive: funding an account with a foreign broker became difficult or impossible, and moving money out of the country required approvals that took time and were not always granted. Positions could not be topped up, and in some cases withdrawals home were easier than deposits out.

The controls were lifted in 2019, but the episode is the clearest European example of a risk most traders never price: the payment corridor can close while your capital is on the wrong side of it. The defensive habits it teaches apply everywhere — do not keep more with a foreign broker than you can afford to have frozen, keep a second verified funding route, and understand that a broker cannot fix a restriction imposed by your own country.

Trading conditions

The ESMA caps apply: 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on minors, gold and major indices, 10:1 on other commodities, 5:1 on shares, 2:1 on cryptocurrencies, with negative balance protection, 50% margin close-out and no bonuses. Binary options are prohibited for retail clients.

Compensation

Clients of Greek-licensed investment firms are covered by the domestic guarantee fund up to a statutory limit. Where a broker passports in from another EEA state — which is most of them — the home state's scheme applies instead, commonly the Cypriot €20,000 fund. Greek and Cypriot firms are closely linked commercially, so this substitution is particularly common here and particularly easy to overlook.

Tax

Gains from financial instruments are taxable, with the mechanism depending on whether a Greek intermediary is involved. A foreign broker does not withhold or report, leaving the declaration to the resident. Confirm with a Greek accountant.

Checks

The HCMC publishes registers of licensed firms and warnings about unauthorised operators.