Regulator profile · DE
BaFin — Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht
Tracked byBrokerlist Editorial · Independent review teamUpdated
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is Germany's integrated financial regulator. It supervises around 2,700 banks, 800 financial-services institutions and 700 insurers, and enforces MiFID II/MiFIR conduct rules for retail forex and CFD providers.
Brokers in Germany accepting residents under BaFin- Jurisdiction
- Germany · all 16 federal states.
- Founded
- 2002
- Mandate
- Established by the Federal Financial Services Supervisory Authority Act, merging the prior banking, securities and insurance supervisors (BAKred, BAWe, BAV). BaFin enforces the Securities Trading Act (WpHG) and the German Securities Institutions Supervisory Act (WpIG).
- Consumer protection
- Statutory deposit insurance via the Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken covers up to €100,000 per depositor at member banks. Investor compensation under the Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen scheme covers up to 90% of securities, capped at €20,000. Negative balance protection is mandatory under MiFID II for retail CFD clients.
- Retail leverage caps
- BaFin enforces ESMA-aligned retail leverage caps: 1:30 on major FX pairs, 1:20 on minors and gold, 1:10 on non-gold commodities and major equity indices, 1:5 on individual equities and 1:2 on crypto-asset CFDs. Marketing of binary options to retail clients is permanently prohibited.
- Public register
- BaFin's online institutions database lets you search by firm name or BaFin-ID. Each entry shows authorisation type, regulated activities and any product-intervention restrictions. Open register ↗
- Dispute resolution
- Retail clients can escalate to the Bundesanstalt-supervised Ombudsmann der privaten Banken (private-sector banks) or the public-bank ombudsman, depending on firm type. Awards typically binding up to €10,000 for the firm.
- Editor notes
- Pure BaFin-licensed retail FX broker count is small relative to FCA/CySEC; many German clients onboard to FCA-authorised UK arms or CySEC EU passports. Trading 212 DE, IG Markets DE and DEGIRO operate BaFin-supervised entities.
Brokers we track with a BaFin licence
No brokersNo tracked broker currently holds a BaFin licence in our database.