FCMC
Updated:
The FCMC regulated Latvian financial firms until 2023, when the Bank of Latvia absorbed it. The brokers below held an FCMC authorisation.
Brokers regulated by FCMC
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The Financial and Capital Market Commission supervised banks, investment firms and insurers in Latvia from 2001 until 1 January 2023, when its functions were transferred to Latvijas Banka — the Bank of Latvia — as part of a consolidation of financial supervision into the central bank.
Why this matters when reading a broker page
The FCMC no longer exists. A broker still describing itself as FCMC-regulated is quoting a body that was dissolved, which does not by itself mean the authorisation lapsed — licences transferred to the Bank of Latvia — but it does mean the page has not been updated since 2022. That is a reasonable prompt to check everything else on it.
Verification now runs through the Bank of Latvia's register of licensed financial market participants rather than through any FCMC list.
What the authorisation covered
Latvian investment firms hold MiFID passporting rights across the European Economic Area. Capital requirements follow the Investment Firms Regulation, management is assessed for suitability, and client money is held under MiFID client asset rules with segregation and reconciliation.
Leverage and retail protections
ESMA product intervention applies: 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on non-majors, gold and major indices, 10:1 on other commodities and non-major indices, 5:1 on individual equities and 2:1 on cryptocurrencies, with margin close-out at 50% of required margin and negative balance protection on every retail account.
If a broker fails
Latvia operates an investor protection scheme compensating clients of a failed investment firm where money or instruments cannot be returned, up to a statutory ceiling per claimant. Cover attaches to the authorising state, so a client of a Latvian firm is covered by the Latvian scheme regardless of where in the EEA they live.
Verifying an authorisation today
Search the Bank of Latvia's register for the exact legal entity in your client agreement and confirm the licence is current and the permitted services cover dealing in investments. Treat any page still citing the FCMC as out of date until the register says otherwise.