News In Detail - CONSOB AND ITS ACTIVITIES
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- ToroProfit (website https://toroprofit.io and related page https://client.toroprofit.io);
- Plan B Ltd (website https://allinvestfx.io and related page https://trade.allinvestfx.io);
- EuropeanFX™ Markets Limited (website https://europeanfx.vip and related pages https://client.europeanfx.vip and https://trade.europeanfx.vip);
- CatenaFarmCapital (website https://catenafarmscapital.net);
- EaglestonesFinance (website https://fin-eaglestone.net and related pages https://account.fin-eaglestone.net and https://web-tbb.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 855.
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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has launched a public consultation (available only in Italian) on the implementing provisions of Article no. 4-septies.2 of Legislative Decree no. 58 (TUF), with relation to Securitizations, introduced by Legislative Decree n. 131 of 3 August 2022.
Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (hereinafter, the "Securitization Regulation"), subsequently amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/557, introduced a uniform regulation on securitisations at EU level and a specific framework for simple transparent and standardized securitisations ("STS"), applicable from 1 January 2019.
The Securitization Regulation establishes specific rules for securitisation sales to retail customers, introducing enhanced investor protection safeguards. Specific due diligence obligations are also established for institutional investors investing in securitisations.
The rules established by articles 6, 7, 8 and 9, of the Securitization Regulation on the subject of risk retention, transparency, prohibition of re-securitization and credit granting criteria apply to all securitisations – whether traditional or synthetic, public (i.e. assisted by a prospectus) or private (for which a prospectus has not been drawn up, pursuant to European legislation). Finally, the Securitization Regulation establishes additional requirements that must be satisfied to allow a securitization to be classified as a STS securitisation.
The supervisory powers deriving from the Securitization Regulation are attributed at national level to Consob, the Bank of Italy, IVASS and Covip. According to the provisions of Article 4-septies.2 of the TUF, Consob is competent to supervise:
- on compliance with Article no. 3 for the sale of securitisations to retail customers;
- on compliance with articles nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9, when neither the assignor, nor the original lender, nor the vehicle company, are supervised entities (i.e. banks, investment firms, managers, financial intermediaries registered in the Register provided for by Article no. 106 of Legislative Decree n. 385 of 1 September 1993, insurance or reinsurance companies, company or professional pension institutions) and there is no promoter;
- on the compliance by originators, sponsors and vehicle companies with Articles nos. 18 to 27 of the Securitization Regulation for STS securitisations;
- on the third-party verifier referred to in Article no. 27, paragraph 2, of the Securitization Regulation and to assign and revoke the authorization referred to in Article no. 28.
The document submitted for consultation defines the provisions applicable to entities supervised by Consob who participate in securitization transactions.
In particular, the procedures for notifying Consob of securitization transactions for which Consob supervises the fulfilment of the obligations established by Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 are identified. Furthermore, the organizational requirements referred to in Article no. 30, paragraph 3, of the Securitization Regulation, applicable to the subjects involved in the transaction subject to the supervision of Consob are detailed, to guarantee that they evaluate and deal with the risks deriving from the securitization transactions.
Together with the provisions, the data model containing the information for which transmission is requested is submitted for consultation.
The notification obligations to Consob (Section II, paragraph 1 and Section III, paragraph 1) apply to securitizations issued after the entry into force of the implementing provisions and to those issued after 1 January 2019 still in force at the date of entry into force of the provisions.
The obligations concerning event reporting (Section II, paragraph 2) and those concerning the notification of loss of STS requirements (Section III, paragraph 2) apply to securitization transactions issued after 1 January 2019.
The comments on the consultation document must reach Consob by 16 May 2023 online, via the Sipe (Integrated External System).
-
Changes in the Leadership of Consob (Press Release of 15 March 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob announces that the Director General, Enrico Ajello, has resigned. He will remain in office until 31 March 2023.
The Commission has decided that Maria Antonietta Scopelliti, Secretary General, will assume the role of Director General for three months from 1 April to 30 June 2023, while also maintaining her position as Secretary General.
On 23 December 2022, Tiziana Togna had resigned from her position as Deputy Director General, effective from 1 April 2023.
The role of Deputy Director General has been assigned to Marina Cicchetti, currently the head of the Internal Control Office, for a period of six months from 1 April to 30 September 2023.
The Commission thanks Enrico Ajello and Tiziana Togna for their valuable service to the Institution.
The procedures for the appointment of the next Director General are currently in an advanced stage of development and will be defined as soon as possible.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Go to webpage dedicated to Consob contribution regime 2023
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
The digitalization of the financial sector offers opportunities for savers and investors, but it is also a "new frontier" with unprecedented risks, from the challenges of cyber security to the world of crypto assets, that national and international regulators have to deal with.
The point was made today, in Rome, in a Conference on The New Frontiers of Digital Finance, organized by CONSOB, which brought together some of the leading subjects of European supervision around the same table. The President of CONSOB, Paolo Savona and the Commissioners Carlo Comporti and Paolo Ciocca did the honours.
“Digitalization brings benefits but risks altogether, such as the growing cyber security threats to the financial sector,” said Verena Ross, President of ESMA (the European financial markets regulating Authority). "The digitized and mutually interconnected financial infrastructures increase - she added - the vulnerability to the risks of cyber attacks" also due to the increasingly common recourse by market operators to outsourced suppliers.
The new European regulation MICAR (Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation), according to Ross, “is an significant milestone in the regulation of crypto assets”. In terms of the cyber-resilience, the DORA (Digital Operation Resilience Act) has entered into force, to which the financial services industry and supervisory authorities will have to quickly adapt. However, she cautioned, "there's a lot to do in a very short time."
“With the arrival of MICAR – said Elisabeth McCaul, of the ECB Banking Supervisory Council – Europe places itself at the forefront in the regulation of crypto assets. But MICAR alone will not be sufficient to bridge the regulatory gaps between the various juridical systems” with the following risk of “regulatory arbitrage” towards the more accommodating countries.
“The risks implied by the recent crypto asset stress have remained low due to the still small size of this market and the limited interconnection with systemically important financial institutions,” added Carmine Di Noia, Head of the Financial and Corporate Affairs Directorate of OECD. But “in a future perspective, with an extensive adoption of decentralized finance and greater interconnectedness, traditional markets would be infected more easily”.
However, in the face of these risks there are also new opportunities for savers, underlined John Berrigan, Director General of DG FISMA (European Commission). “Digitalisation favours financial inclusion, helps to support small and medium-sized enterprises, promotes sustainable growth”. The core argument, he stressed, is to ensure that " the same rules and the same supervision correspond to the same risks".
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- Flack Consulting LLC (website https://arkcoin.live and related page https://webtrader.aktrade.cc);
- Shlack Consulting LLC (website https://tradegenics.co);
- Florishing Group LLC (website https://bstrade.world and related page https://webtrader.bstrade.top);
- Broker Capitals Ltd (website https://brokercapcfd24.com and related page https://platform2.brokercapcfd24.com);
- “VirtuFinance” (www.virtufinance.come and related page https://webtrader.virtufinance.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 850.
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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
On Thursday 30th March at 11.00 AM in the Consob Auditorium, the Chairman of the Securities and Financial Ombudsman (ACF), will present the “2022 Annual Report of the Securities and Financial Ombudsman”. The opportunity will allow to illustrate the whole activities performed from 2017 to today and to outline the evolutionary prospects of the ACF.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Please note that Consob has launched a consultation with the market (available only in Italian) for the adoption of a Regulation implementing the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503, which introduced a single regulatory regime for European crowdfunding service providers for companies. The authorization issued in the framework of the European Regulation will allow European crowdfunding service providers to operate under a passporting regime in all EU Member States.
The provisions set up for consultation, for a period of 15 days, will involve the definition of some detailed features of the European regulation on the provision of crowdfunding services in consideration of the future completion of the adaptation process of the national legislation to Regulation (EU) 2020/1503.
The regulatory scheme submitted to market consultation will refer to the regulation of the following aspects:
1) Procedure for release and revocation of the authorization,
2) Definition of information obligations for crowdfunding service providers,
3) Definition of domestic legislation applicable to marketing communications,
4) Definition of further obligations originating from the civil law regime.
The comments on the consultation document must reach Consob by 17 March 2023 online, through the Sipe (Integrated System for External Services).
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has launched a consultation with the market (available only in Italian) for the adoption of a Regulation implementing the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503, which introduced a single regulatory regime for European crowdfunding service providers for companies. The authorization issued in the framework of the European Regulation will allow European crowdfunding service providers to operate under a passporting regime in all EU Member States.
The provisions set up for consultation, for a period of 15 days, will involve the definition of some detailed features of the European regulation on the provision of crowdfunding services in consideration of the future completion of the adaptation process of the national legislation to Regulation (EU) 2020/1503.
The regulatory scheme submitted to market consultation will refer to the regulation of the following aspects:
1) Procedure for release and revocation of the authorization,
2) Definition of information obligations for crowdfunding service providers,
3) Definition of domestic legislation applicable to marketing communications,
4) Definition of further obligations originating from the civil law regime.
The comments on the consultation document must reach Consob by 17 March 2023 online, through the Sipe (Integrated System for External Services).
-
Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 6 abusive websites (Press Release of 2 March 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 6 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally: 5 illegal financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by the Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article no. 4, paragraph 3-bis, with reference to the black-out of the website through which the illegal offer is carried out.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- "Prime Invest" and "Primeinv.co" (website https://primeinv.co and related page https://webtrader.pinvest.cc);
- "FXBoxed" (website www.fxboxed.com and related page https://account.fxboxed.com);
- New Finance LLC and NewFx Limited (website www.newfx.us);
- "Axi24" (website www.axi24.com and related page https://platform2.axi24.com);
- "Evolve Consulting LCC" (website https://capitalbiz.ltd and page https://webtrader.c-base.co);
- Trustfund-Minning Global Pty Ltd (website www.trustfund-minning.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 845.
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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
The questionnaires adopted by financial intermediaries to assess the suitability of the financial instruments offered to customers have become more effective and comprehensible, over the past decade. However, some aspects can be improved, such as the still substantial influence of self-assessment in customer responses, or the number of questions aimed at detecting the understanding of the bail-in mechanism, still limited to 18% of cases, only.
This is the topic debated at the Conference "Customer profiling for the assessment of adequacy - Survey of a sample of Italian intermediaries", held today at Consob, in which the evolution of the questionnaires was reviewed, starting from the 2022 Discussion Paper: Customers’ profiling for the purposes of the adequacy assessment. Follow up of the 2012 study on a sample of Italian intermediaries : a document which resumes and extends the analysis already published in a 2012 Discussion Paper, widening the perimeter to include investor profiling algorithms and customers' environmental sustainability preferences.
In a decade, the quality of the questionnaires results as increased in terms of completeness and clarity of the contents, to the benefit of a more effective profiling. Due to the supervisory activity conducted by Consob, intermediaries also make a greater use of algorithms that may limit opportunistic customer profiling.
However, there remains room for improvement, from the weight assigned to self-assessment to key information, such as about the risk of bail-in. The information collected could be subjected to more severe internal consistency checks and verified in connection with the broader set of information available to the intermediary. Sometimes, the scores assigned to the questions are not commensurate with the complexity of the financial instruments. Consob has supervisory initiatives in progress on customer profiling, adopted by the subjects in the sample, to ensure better convergence towards market best practices.
"The results of the analysis suggest many positive elements", said Consob Commissioner Paolo Ciocca at the opening of the meeting. "But there is an area where a further improvement is possible, where challenges can be turned into opportunities", Ciocca explained, referring to the indications of the Consob report on the investment choices of Italian households and to the entrance of new types of investors, due to the recent technologies.
Consob's findings show "a still poorly structured investor decision-making process on which there is some work to be done", said Nadia Linciano, head of Consob's Research Division. “A theme that fits into the need to raise awareness of the advisory services: investors often don't fully understand its added value, nor the real effects of the information they transfer to the advisor.”
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Publicly listed companies should be prepared to release information on cybersecurity in their mandatory periodic reporting to the market, due to the interest had by investors in knowing how tough or vulnerable the company in which they invest their money is, with respect to the risk of hacker attacks.
This is the position expressed by Luna Bloom of SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), the U.S. regulatory and supervisory authority on the financial markets, in her intervention at the Conference "Cybersecurity, market disclosure & industry", underway today and tomorrow at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
Cyber risks are growing with their stepping up due to the digitalization of the economy and finance, with strong operational, legal and reputational impacts on listed companies, Bloom observed. The boards of listed companies must hold robust rules and skills, added Bloom, demanding that transparency in the field of cybersecurity must be mandatory and not discretionary.
"Cyber-risk has a potential systemic impact", observed Paolo Ciocca, CONSOB Commissioner. "The question is not whether to release information, but when and how to release it and what to convey to the market. This places a burden on the Boards".
"A consistent, comparable and decision-oriented disclosure of information on cybersecurity would put investors - commented Elena Beccalli, Dean of the Faculty of Banking, Finance and Insurance at Università Cattolica - in a better position to be aware of risks and incidents".
"The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the frequent use of outsourced suppliers have increased the threat of systemic risks", observed Alexander Harris of ESMA, emphasizing that collaboration between regulators and other market players is necessary.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Proceedings of the Conference "Independent Authorities, Anti-Corruption and Whistleblowing: the open issues" organised by Consob on 14 October 2022 together with the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) and the University of Rome Tor Vergata, within the framework of the 7th Edition of the Anti-Corruption Master's Degree, have been published in Consob's Legal Research Papers Series.
The speakers attending the conference included Roberto Rustichelli, Elisabetta Iossa and Guido Stazi of AGCM; Vittorio Capuzza and Emiliano Di Carlo of the University of Rome Tor Vergata; Filippo Cucuccio of ANSPC; Giuseppe Busia and Renato Catalano of ANAC; Giulietta Gamba of the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM); Claudio Filippi of the Italian Data Protection Authority; Maria Antonietta Scopelliti of Consob; Gian Luca Trequattrini of the Bank of Italy.
The conference delved into the legislation on the prevention of corruption and the legal institution of Whistleblowing, introduced by Law no. 190 of 6 November 2012, with particular reference to the regulatory structure of the independent administrative authorities. This was an important opportunity for public discussion on the models and mechanisms for preventing corruption within the context of the main independent authorities, which allowed Consob to take stock of its most recent achievements with a view to guaranteeing organisational mechanisms capable of preventing the opacity of decision-making processes, favouring the possibility of receiving reports from employees regarding any unlawful conduct.
-
Expiry of the mandate of Commissioner Dr. Giuseppe Maria Berruti (15 February 2023)
Published: 01/01/1970
On the occasion of the expiry of the mandate of Commissioner Dr. Giuseppe Maria Berruti, the Commission expressed its deep appreciation for the highly qualified professional contribution he made to the Institution over seven years of intense work. The Commission also emphasized the fundamental contribution he made on regulatory issues and, in particular, relations with the judiciary.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 6 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally: 5 illegal financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by the Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article no. 4, paragraph 3-bis, with reference to the black-out of the website through which the illegal offer is carried out.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- Bamboozle Group LTD (website https://enerixinvest.pro and related page https://eninvest.pro);
- The Active Traders Ltd (website https://theactivetrade.com and related page https://client.theactivetrade.com);
- "Admiralfx" (website https://admiralmarket-ecn.com);
- Rever LTD/"Vexxsel" (website https://vexxsel.online and related page https://platform.vexxsel.online);
- EuropeanFX Limited (website https://europeanfx.co/ and related pages https://client.europeanfx.co/ and https://trade.europeanfx.co);
- Gold Crown Mining Limited (website www.goldcrownminingltd.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 839.
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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
All linked documents are only available in the Italian language.
Consob has launched the consultation with the market on a proposal for a Communication with which it intends to provide indications aimed at regulating disclosure obligations of issuers with shares listed on regulated markets connected to the so-called transactions. of "non-standard POC" (i.e. single-investor reserved convertible bonds with the characteristics identified in the same Communication).
Furthermore, considering the similarities of the non-standard POCs with respect to the capital increase transactions reserved for a single investor called Stand-by Equity Distribution Agreement (“SEDA”) and Step-Up Equity Financing (“SEF”), already regulated by two previous Communications adopted by Consob in 2006 and 2008 (Communications nos. DME/6083801 of 20 October 2006 and DEM/DME/DSG/8065325 of 10 July 2008), the purpose of the Communication is also the carry out a wider intervention, aimed not only to regulate the new operations connected to the same non-standard POCs, but also to carry out a general systematization of the indications already given on the matter (providing further indications for the SEDAs, for the SEFs and for all other types of operations with similar characteristics such as, for example, those carried out through the allocation of warrants to a single investor).
Furthermore, considering that these operations (and, in particular, non-standard POCs) are also widespread among companies whose shares are traded on MTFs, the Communication also provides applicable indications to these cases. In any case, with a view to proportionality and not burdening the operators, in such events the information framework is differently adjusted with respect to that assumed for companies with shares listed on regulated markets (in particular, some information requirements are not imposed, but they are only recommended).
The new Communication therefore aims to replace the two previous Communications provided by Consob on the subject (which would consequently be repealed).
The comments on the consultation document must reach Consob by 1st March 2023 online, through the Sipe (Integrated System for External Services).
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Press release of "The Committee for the planning and coordination of financial education activities" (EDUFIN) of 13 February 2023
Global Money Week 2023 starts on 20 March
“Plan your money, plant your future” is the theme of this edition of Global Money Week. Applications for the organization of events and initiatives throughout Italy are open on the Edufin Committee website. You can apply until 13 March.
The Global Money Week (GMW) is the annual event promoted by the OECD with the aim of raising young people's awareness of the importance of acquiring the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to make informed financial decisions.
Since its launch, in 2012, the event has involved over 50 million young people in 176 countries. In Italy, the campaign is coordinated by the Committee for the planning and coordination of financial education activities (Edufin Committee) with the organizational support of the Bank of Italy.
"Plan your money, plant your future" is a message emphasizing the strong link between planning one's finances and one's future with a view to sustainable development, with attention to the environment and to society.
The Edufin Committee invites associations, institutions, companies, universities and research centres, schools, foundations, public administrations and any other organization wishing to participate in the field of financial education with quality events. All the initiatives meeting the requirements of the Guidelines available on the official website www.quellocheconta.gov.it will be approved. Membership will allow you to use the official GMW logo and to take advantage from the many promotional activities, at national and local level, managed by the Committee to promote wider visibility to the organizers of the individual initiatives.
Information on the events will be published on the official website www.quellocheconta.gov.it and on the social profiles @ITAedufin (Facebook), Twitter, Instagram and @ComitatoEdufin (LinkedIn).
“To know how to manage money is a fundamental issue for our young people. We must invest in financial education, plant the seeds to build a peaceful and sustainable future. We invite everyone to participate and contribute to this important event,” says Annamaria Lusardi, Director of the Edufin Committee.
The Committee for the planning and coordination of financial education activities has the task of planning and promoting awareness-raising and financial education initiatives to measurably improve skills in the fields of savings, investments, social security and insurance.
The Committee, directed by Professor Annamaria Lusardi, is made up of: Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Education and Merit, Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, Bank of Italy , Consob, Covip, Ivass, Ocf, National Council of Consumers and Users.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
Consob has ordered the black-out of 8 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally: 7 illegal financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.
The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by the Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article no. 4, paragraph 3-bis, with reference to the black-out of the website through which the illegal offer is carried out.
Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- SwissFX Bank Limited (website www.swissfxbank.live and related page https://platform.swissfxbank.live);
- Jkcforex Group Limited (website www.jkcforex.com and related page https://client.jkcforex.com);
- "Axicapitals" (website www.axi-capitals.com and related page https://platform.axi-capitals.com);
- CRYPTONEYX" (website www.cryptoneyx.net);
- Vantage Global Limited (websites www.vantagefx.com, www.vantagemarkets.com and related page https://secure.vantagemarkets.com);
- N 26 PTY LTD/ "Binanfx" (website www.binanfx.com and related page https://account.binanfx.com);
- Digitalcurrency Exchange (website https://digitalcurrency-exchange.uk/?a=home).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, 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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published.
To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially abusive initiatives.
-
Published: 01/01/1970
PRESS RELEASE
Sustainable finance: the interest of Italians will drop slightly in 2022, but the propensity towards "green" investments remains high
Mosca: "The fight against greenwashing is a top priority objective"The interest of Italians in sustainable investments declines in 2022, even if, in perspective, "green finance" retains its force of attraction, so much so that a large part of our compatriots are willing to evaluate a reorientation of their securities portfolio in the next two years in favour of sustainable products. Among the main prudential factors there is the risk of greenwashing, a phenomenon now at the core attention of international regulators.
These are some of the main results highlighted today during a conference at Consob, in Rome, on the subject “Sustainable investments. Knowledge, attitudes and choices of Italian investors”, which explored the issues of sustainability in the eighth Consob Report on financial investments of Italian households, presented on 26 January last.
In a context of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, marked by a sharp rise in inflation and the war in Ukraine, 15% of Italians - according to a survey made between June and July 2022 on a sample of 1,436 respondents – disclose their interest in investing in sustainable financial products (those that stand out for their commitment to the protection of the environment, workers' rights and the values of good corporate governance) even accepting lower returns than other forms of investment. In 2021 the corresponding figure was 17%. 48% of those interviewed (they were 57% in 2021) declare to be willing to invest in ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) financial products only in the case of returns equal to or even higher than those offered by unsustainable investments. On the other hand, 17% declare that they have no interest in sustainable finance, against 13% a year earlier.
"The data reveal that greenwashing, i.e. misleading statements on the effective sustainability features of products, is among the fears and risks perceived by investors", observed Chiara Mosca, Consob Commissioner, introducing the proceedings. It is a phenomenon, she added, that "can undermine trust". This is why "the fight against greenwashing is a global priority and is on the agenda of international regulators".
The survey also shows that Italians' knowledge of the world of sustainable finance is still rather limited. In fact, only 29% of the sample correctly answered a few simple questions on the characteristics of sustainable financial products. Interest is highest among women, young people, wealthy investors and those more financially literate.
However, despite the decline evidenced in 2022, the "green" in finance keeps its appeal. In fact, 57% of interviewed people are inclined to change their investment choices over the next two years, strengthening its sustainability features.
Speech by Consob Commissioner Chiara Mosca [available only in italian]