Newsletter - CONSOB AND ITS ACTIVITIES
Newsletter
Weekly newsletter - year XXIX - No. 5 - 13 February 2023
News of the week:
Annual meeting of Consob with the financial market: 9 June 2023 at Borsa Italiana
Watch for scams! Financial fraud: Consob blacks out 8 more abusive websites
16 February 2023 - Seminar dedicated to "Financial planning. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian
investors"
23 February 2023 - Seminar dedicated to "Digitalization. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian
investors"
27-28 February 2023 - Workshop on Cyber Security, Market Disclosure & Industry
2 March 2023 - Seminar dedicated to Customer profiling for suitability assessment
10 March 2023 - Conference on “The new frontiers of digital finance"
Italians' interest in sustainable finance dipped slightly in 2022, while appetite for "green" investments remained
high
Investor protection warnings from other regulatory authorities
- NEWS OF THE WEEK -
Consob's customary annual meeting with the financial market will be held on Friday 9 June at 11:00 in Milan, in Palazzo Mezzanotte, the historic headquarters of Borsa Italiana.
Consob has ordered the black-out of 8 new websites that offer financial products/services illegally.
7 abusive financial intermediation sites and
1 site through which an offer of financial products is made in the absence of a prospectus.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "growth decree" (Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, article 36, paragraph 2-terdecies) regarding the blackout of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the power introduced by Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, article 4, paragraph 3-bis, regarding the blackout of the website through which the abusive offer is made.
Below are the sites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- SwissFX Bank Limited (website www.swissfxbank.live and its page https://platform.swissfxbank.live);
- Jkcforex Group Limited (website www.jkcforex.com and its page https://client.jkcforex.com);
- Axicapitals (website www.axi-capitals.com and its page https://platform.axi-capitals.com);
- Cryptoneyx (website www.cryptoneyx.net).
- Vantage Global Limited (websites www.vantagefx.com, www.vantagemarkets.com and its page https://secure.vantagemarkets.com);
- N 26 Pty Ltd / Binanfx (website www.binanfx.com and its page https://account.binanfx.com);
- Digitalcurrency Exchange (website https://digitalcurrency-exchange.uk/?a=home).
The number of sites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order the black-out of websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has thus risen to 833.
The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.
The black-out of these websites by internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.
Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours, essential to safeguard one's savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom you are investing is authorised, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that there is a section on the homepage of its website www.consob.it entitled "Watch for scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
***
Consob has also suspended, as a precautionary measure for a period of 90 days, an offer to the public residing in Italy of "Investment Plans" by Digitalcurrency Exchange, including via the website https://digitalcurrency-exchange.uk/?a=home (decision no. 22581 of 8 February 2023).
***
Consob presents the seminar entitled "Financial planning. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian investors", which will be held on Thursday, 16 February 2023 from 15:00 to 17:00 at the Consob Auditorium, Via C. Monteverdi 35, Rome. Carlo Comporti (Consob Commissioner), Chiara Monticone (OECD), Marianna Brunetti and Rocco Ciciretti (Tor Vergata University of Rome), Nadia Linciano and Paola Soccorso (Consob Research Division) will speak.
The detailed programme of the event will be available shortly. The event is also streamed at the following link: https://youtu.be/vKf9kRPEv1w.
Attendance is free of charge, but attendees are asked to register online: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/iscrizione-seminari.
The seminar is the third of a series of four seminars entitled "The investment choices of Italian households – financial culture, innovation and sustainability" based on the data collected by the Observatory "The approach of Italian households to finance and investment". The first seminar, "The financial choices of Italian households. Evidence from the 8th Consob Report", took place on 26 January 2023, and the second, "Sustainable investments. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian investors - 8th Consob Report" on 7 February. The fourth and final seminar will be held on 23 February.
Consob presents the seminar entitled "Digitalisation. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian investors", which will be held on Thursday, 23 February 2023 from 15:00 to 17:00 at the Consob Auditorium, Via C. Monteverdi 35, Rome. Paolo Ciocca (Member of the Consob Commission), Tania De Renzis (ESMA), Laura Grassi (Politecnico di Milano), Matthew Kan (Ontario Securities Commission), Daniela Marconi (Bank of Italy), Nadia Linciano and Paola Soccorso (Consob Research Division) will speak.
The detailed programme of the event will be available shortly. The event is also streamed at the following link: https://youtu.be/pergz0NoAY4.
Attendance is free of charge, but attendees are asked to register online: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/iscrizione-seminari.
The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and Consob have organised a Workshop on Cyber Security, Market Disclosure & Industry that will take place in Milan on 27 February 2023 from 15:00 to 18:00 and on 28 February 2023 from 10:00 to 13:00.
The event will take place over two sessions (days) and the aim is to discuss whether increasing the market disclosure and cyber risk resilience of listed companies and/or companies of significant importance would effectively strengthen investor protection and market awareness.
First session: 27 February, 15:00-18:00
- Following a welcome address by the Dean of the Faculty of Banking, Financial and Insurance Sciences (Milan), the first part of the session will be dedicated to Consob, ESMA (European Financial Instruments and Markets Authority) and the SEC Securities and Exchange Commission), which will offer an overview of the latest regulatory developments in Europe and America on cybersecurity. The second part will involve a round table discussion among the CFOs of relevant companies listed on the Italian stock exchange.
Second session: 28 February, 10:00-13:00
- Following opening remarks by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Law (Piacenza), the European Banking Federation will introduce the topic of cyber resilience and the potential impact of the new DORA legislation. The second part will take the form of a round table discussion during which the authorities, significant entities and specialised companies will share their experiences.
The event can be attended in person in room PIO XI of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Milan), or remotely. Details on how to register for the workshop will follow.
Consob has organized a seminar entitled Customer profiling for suitability assessment - Recognition on a sample of Italian intermediaries that will take place on Thursday, 2 March 2023, from 10:00 to 12:00, at the Consob Auditorium, Via Monteverdi 35 (Rome) and will be streamed live. Paolo Ciocca (Consob Commissioner), Gianpaolo Barbuzzi (Alternative Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme), Michele de Mari (University of Verona), Francesco Adria and Francesco Quaranta (Consob Intermediaries Division), Nadia Linciano and Paola Soccorso (Consob Research Division) will speak.
Attendance is free of charge, but attendees are asked to register online: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/iscrizione-seminari.
The detailed programme of the event will be available shortly. The event is also streamed at the following link: https://youtu.be/rqsT6mpp6Aw.
Consob is organising a conference entitled "The New Frontiers of Digital Finance", to be held on 10 March 2023, from 10:00 to 13:00, at the Auditorium in Via C. Monteverdi 35, Rome.
The proceedings will be opened by Paolo Savona, Chair of Consob. This will be followed by a keynote speech by Verena Ross, Chair of ESMA, and speeches by distinguished representatives of European institutions and authorities, national supervisory authorities and market participants. Speakers will include: John Berrigan, Director General DG FISMA of the European Commission; Carmine Di Noia, Director DAF-OECD; Elisabeth McCaul, Member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank; Paolo Angelini, Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy; Roni Michael, Global Head of Innovation at Kpmg. The detailed programme of the event will be available shortly.
Attendance is free of charge, but attendees are asked to register online: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/iscrizione-seminari.
Although Italians' interest in sustainable investments dipped in 2022, "green finance" is still considered an attractive prospect, so much so that a large proportion of Italians are prepared to consider reorienting their securities portfolios towards sustainable products in the next two years.
One of the main cautionary factors is the risk of "greenwashing", a phenomenon international regulators are now focusing on.
These were some of the main findings highlighted at a conference held at Consob on 7 February on the theme of "Sustainable developments. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian investors", which took a detailed look into the sustainability issues highlighted in the eighth Consob report on the investment choices of Italian householdspresented on 26 January.
Against a backdrop of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, characterised by a sharp rise in inflation and the war in Ukraine, 15% of Italians (according to a survey conducted between June and July 2022 on a sample of 1,436 respondents) said they were interested in investing in sustainable financial products (those that stand out for their commitment to environmental protection, workers' rights and good corporate governance values) even at the cost of accepting lower returns than those offered by other forms of investment.
In 2021, the corresponding figure was 17%. 48% of respondents (57% in 2021) said they were only willing to invest in ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) financial products if the returns were equal to or even better than those offered by non-sustainable investments.
In contrast, 17% said they had no interest in sustainable finance, compared with 13% a year earlier.
"Data reveal that greenwashing, in the sense of misleading claims about the actual sustainability credentials of products, is among the fears and risks perceived by investors," noted Consob Commissioner Chiara Mosca, in her opening remarks at the conference. "It is a phenomenon" she added, that "can undermine confidence". This is why "combating greenwashing is a global priority and is on the agenda of international regulators".
The survey also shows that Italians' knowledge of sustainable finance is still rather limited. Only 29% of the sample answered a few simple questions on the characteristics of sustainable financial products correctly. Interest is highest among women, young people, wealthy investors and the more financially literate.
However, despite the decline recorded in 2022, "green" finance is not losing its appeal. Indeed, 57% of respondents said they would be prepared to change their investment choices in the next two years, increasing the sustainability component.
The conference proceedings (speeches and slides) are available on the Consob website at the following link: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/seminari-e-convegni.
The supervisory authorities of the United Kingdom (Financial Conduct Authority - FCA), Portugal (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários – CMVM), Hong Kong (Securities and Futures Commission - SFC), Alberta (Alberta Securities Commission - ASC), Poland (Polish Financial Supervision Authority - KNF), Argentina (Comisiòn Nacional de Valores Argentina - CNVA), Switzerland (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority – FINMA), Spain (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores - CNMV), Greece (Hellenic Capital Market Commission - HCMC) and Austria (Financial Market Autority - FMA), report the companies and websites offering investment, financial and insurance services without the required authorisations.
Reported by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - United Kingdom:
- Interact Tradefx / Interacttradefx (www.interacttradefx.com);
- Spotfxoptions (www.spotfxoptions.com);
- Nexusxchange (www.nexusxchange.com);
- Trade Bull Max (www.tradebullmax.com);
- Forxcryptonet (www.forxcryptonet.com);
- The Trustfx (www.thetrustfx.com);
- Legalforexcoin (https://legalforex-coin.com);
- William Market Fxtm (https://williammarketfxtm.net);
- Hedge-quityfx / Hedge-quityfx.com (https://hedge-quityfx.com);
- Topclubinvestments (www.topclubinvestments.com);
- Quantum Capital Market (www.quantumcapitalmarket.com);
- Ukbtc (www.ukbtc.com);
- Capitalalliancebank (www.capitalalliancebank.com);
- Cdm Financial Limited (www.cdmfinancial.co.uk);
- Ludgate Investments Limited (https://ludgateinvestmentslimited.com), clone of a licensed company;
- Esmondcapital.org (www.esmondcapital.org), clone of a licensed company;
- Octamarketstrading (www.octamarketstrading.com);
- Forex Chefs (https://forexchefs.org);
- Cryptouniverseprofit L.P. (www.cryptouniverseprofit.com);
- Fxchains-Ltd (www.fxchains-ltd.org);
- Itorostocks Ltd (https://itoro-capital.co);
- Fundchain Admin (www.fundchainadmin.com);
- Payruzza (www.payruzza.org);
- Axi Corp Limited (email: alicia.m@axisinvesting.ltd, anna.m@axisinvesting.ltd) clone of a licensed company;
- Current Coins (www.currentcoins.net);
- Hartley Pensions Limited (www.hartleypensionsuk.com), clone of a licensed company;
- Grand Trust Holdings United Kingdom (https://grandtrustholdings.com/onlineservices/group);
- Empower Financial Services, Inc / Financial Solutions CP (email: chloeswarren@financialsolutioncp.com, naomimonicaroy@financialsolutioncp.com, support@financialsolution.com), clone of a licensed company;
- Clearstream Ltd (https://clearstream.in), clone of a licensed company;
- Oxford Wise (https://oxford-wise.eu);
- Uk Intelligence (www.ukintelligence.co.uk);
- Income Bonds UK (https://www.incomebonds.uk/, www.bestbonds.today, www.Ukfixedbonds.org, https://fixedbonds.org/, www.fixedincome-compare.com, www.ukbonds.org, https://uk-incomebonds.com/, www.ukincomebonds.com, www.income-bonds.org, https://uk-bonds.co/, Incomebonds.org, ukincomebonds.co, www.incomebonds.so, www.incomebonds.se, www.ukincomebonds.so, www.ukincomebonds.org, https://income-bonds.com/, uk-bonds.com, www.fixed-bonds.org, www.incomebonds.org.uk);
- Zeta Hedge Limited (www.zeta-hedge.com);
- Global X / Globalx.company (www.globalx.company);
- Crypto Detect / cryptodetect.co.uk (www.cryptodetect.co.uk);
- Flexible Wealth Exchange (www.flexiblewealthexchange.com);
- Wealth Paramount (www.wealthparamount.com);
- Blendfx Trade (www.blendfxtrade.com);
- Finance Experts Ltd (www.financeexpertsltd.com);
- Extreme Investment Platform Ltd (www.extremeinvestmentplatform.com);
- Fxcrob Trading (www.fxcrobtrading.com);
- Crypto Visualmining (www.cryptovisualmining.com);
- Algorand Capital (www.algorand-capital.co, www.algorand-capital.com, www.algorand-capital.org, www.algorand-capital.net);
- Brookway Loans Ltd (https://www.brookwayltd.co.uk/index-2.html);
- Tarcord Bank (www.tarcordonline.com);
- Destination Global Corp Ltd (https://destinationglobalcorpltd.co.uk);
- Equalpros (www.equalpros.com);
- Interalia Capital (http://interalia-capital.co.uk), clone of a licensed company;
- Zoom-Bit (www.Zoom-bit.com), clone of a licensed company;
- Ab Funding (https://www.abfunding.co.uk), clone of a licensed company;
- Kranken Fx (https://krankenfxtrade.com);
- Equity Score Trade (www.equityscoretrade.com);
- Turbo Cfd (www.turbo.cfd);
- Solidusx (www.solidusx.com, https://www.facebook.com/SolidusX.official, https://twitter.com/SolidusX1);
- Indexx Club Plc (https://indexxclub.com/en);
- Casper Finance (email: dannylane0594@gmail.com, georgekelly4242@emailmarketingvn.com, simonmose7820@gmail.com);
- Market Signal Point (https://marketsignalpoint.com);
- Siliconmegamarket (https://siliconmegamarket.com);
- Inate Fx (www.inatefx.com);
- Capitisfx (www.capitisfx.com);
- First Sky Private Bank (www.firstskyprivatebank.com);
- Traders-Investpro / Traders-Investpro.Com (https://traders-investpro.com);
- Perfect-Invest.ltd (https://perfect-invest.ltd);
- Golden Fundsfx (https://goldenfundsfx.com);
- Maxcapitalimted.Com (https://maxcapitalimited.com);
- Brim Accrue (https://brimaccrue.com).
Reported by the Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM) - Portugal:
- Iconic Capital / Effervescent Group Ltd (https://iconiccapital.world/pt).
Reported by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) – Hong Kong:
- Philip & Keith Holdings (www.philipkeithholdings-hk.com), clone of a licensed company;
Reported by the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) – Alberta:
- Whitcoin (www.whitcoinex.com);
- Unicoin (www.unicoin.com);
- Valiant Markets (www.valiantmarkets.com);
- Thekryptobank.com (www.thekryptobank.com);
- Tesler Trading Systems (www.gnportal.co, www.royaloakInvestments.com);
- Quantum AI Trading (www.quantum-ai-trading.com);
- Optimal Stocks Pro (www.optimalstockspro.com);
- Olympus4x.com (www.olympus4x.com);
- NovaTech Ltd (www.novatechfx.com);
- Koorbit Company Ltd (www.koorbitk.com);
- Infinity4x (www.infinity4X.io);
- Hengryfx.net (www.fxglobal-capitals.com);
- Global Solutions Ltd (www.global-solution.io, www.global-solution.group);
- Get Prime Crypto (www.getprimecrypto.net, getprimecrypto.org);
- Defi-Line (www.defi-line.com);
- Cryptoneyx (www.cryptoneyx.io);
- Crypto Lloyds Ltd (www.crypto-lloyds.com);
- Crypto-Guider (www.crypto-guider.com);
- Cryptos Circus (www.cryptos-circus.com);
- Cryptop72 Asset Management (www.cryptopoint72.vc);
- Crown Global Ltd (www.crownglobal.io);
- Coin Market Solutions (www.coinmarketsolutions.com, www.coinmarketsolutions.io);
- Capital Group Ltd (www.capital-group.ltd);
- Bullgeko (www.bullgeko.com);
- Blockchaiin (www.blockchaiin.net);
- Aurora Capital Finance (www.auroracfinance.com);
- Astra Horizon (www.astrahorizon.com);
- Atomic Trade (www.atomictrade.io);
- Ammuni.me (www.ammuni.me);
- Altcoins Ltd (www.altcoin-invest.ltd);
- Alfabtc (www.alfabtc.com, www.alfabtc.network
- Alpinoak Investments Inc. (www.alpinoakinvestments.com);
- Airbrick Finance (www.airbrick.finance);
- Achievers World Fx (www.achieversworldfx.com);
- Crypto-Seed (www.cryptos-seed.com, www.cryptos-seeds.com, www.cryptoseeds.io);
- Explore Fx (www.explorefx.uk);
- Main-Bit (www.main-bit.com);
- The Financial Centre (www.financialcentre.com);
- Titantrader (https://titantrader.net);
- Uni-co (https://uni-co.org).
Reported by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) - Poland:
- www.allfinagroup.pro;
- Finero Corp Limited (www.finero.co.uk and www.finero.co.uk/?lang=pl).
Reported by the Comisión Nacional de Valores Argentina (CNVA) – Argentina:
Corporación De Ganancias Bursátiles (https://cgbinversiones.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cgb.oficial/ https://www.youtube.com/@cgbinversiones6783).
Reported by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) – Switzerland
Swiss Investment Development Bank (https://trading.swissdbinvest.com).
Reported by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) – Spain:
- www.invesdors.com;
- Pattern Trade (https://patterntrade.net, https://patterntrader.io/es/, https://pattern-trader.io/es/, https://patterntrader.app);
- Crefx-Income (https://www.crefx-income.xyz);
- Lagrange Capital Llc (https://lagrange.capital).
Reported by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission – (HCMC) – Greece:
- Natatrade (www.natatrade.com, www.nata-trade.com, https://webtrader.preminvtradplatform.com);
- Luxury Capitals (www.luxury-capitals.com, www.luxurycapitals.com).
Reported by the Financial Authority (FMA) – Austria:
- Nag (https://insnag.me);
- Marketguild Ltd (https://www.chartconsultings.com);
- Onex Corporation / Canoodle Solutions Ltd (https://onex-corporation.com);
- Volksfx (https://www.volksfx.net);
- https://www.premiumfinancesolutionsltd.com;
- Wisetrades4u (https://wisetrades4u.com);
- www.monecorlimitedeu.com;
- Vipcoin–Finanzportal Gmbh (www.vipcoin.ch);
- Statehills (www.statehills.com).
- The information note on the programme for the offering to the public and/or listing of bonds issued by Banco BPM Spa has been approved (decision of 8 February 2023).
Order, pursuant to art. 7-octies, letter b) of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 (Consolidated Law on Finance) to cease infringement of art. 18 of Consolidated Law on Finance, put in place by:
- SwissFX Bank Limited through the website www.swissfxbank.live and its page https://platform.swissfxbank.live (resolution no. 22586 of 8 February 2023);
- Jkcforex Group Limited through the website www.jkcforex.com and its page https://client.jkcforex.com (resolution no. 22584 of 8 February 2023);
- Axicapitals through the website www.axi-capitals.com and its page https://platform.axicapitals.com (resolution no. 22582 of 8 February 2023);
- Cryptoneyx through the website www.cryptoneyx.net (resolution no. 22583 of 8 February 2023).
- Vantage Global Limited through the website www.vantagefx.com, www.vantagemarkets.com and its page https://secure.vantagemarkets.com (resolution no. 22587 of 8 February 2023);
- N 26 Pty Ltd / Binanfx through the website www.binanfx.com and its page https://account.binanfx.com (resolution no. 22585 of 8 February 2023).
- Based on the provisions of Article 147-ter of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 (Consolidated Law on Finance) and Article 144-ter et seq. of the Issuers' Regulation, the Head of Consob's Corporate Governance Division has determined the minimum shareholdings for the submission of lists of candidates for the election of the company's board of directors and internal control bodies Ovs Spa. Unless the company's articles of association prescribe a lower shareholding, the threshold has been set at 2.5%. The full text of the management decision (no. 77 of 9 February 2023) is available on the website www.consob.it, together with a table setting out the criteria used to determine the qualifying shareholding.