CySEC
| Επιτροπή Κεφαλαιαγοράς | |
 |
|
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2001 |
| Jurisdiction | Republic of Cyprus |
| Headquarters | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Employees | 42 (2009) |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | cysec |
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, (Greek: Επιτροπή Κεφαλαιαγοράς) better known as CySEC, is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. As an EU member state, CySEC's financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law. Notably a significant number of overseas retail forex brokers and binary options brokers have obtained registration from CySEC.
CySEC was launched in 2001 as part of section 5 of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (Establishment and Responsibilities) Law of 2001 as a public corporate body. When Cyprus became a member of the European Union in 2004, CySEC simultaneously became a part of the European MiFID regulation, giving firms registered in Cyprus access to all European markets. However, joining the EU and adopting the Euro significantly changed the financial regulatory framework that CySEC policed for what had been previously considered a tax haven.
On May 4, 2012, CySEC announced a policy change regarding the classification of binary options as financial instruments. The effect was that binary options platforms operating in Cyprus (where most of the platforms are based) had to be regulated. This established CySEC as the first financial regulator to globally recognise and regulate binary options as financial instruments.
CySEC has the following responsibilities:
CySEC is administrated by a five-member Board which is composed of the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman, that are employed full-time, plus three other members. In addition the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus is represented by a non voting board member. The members of Board are named by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance and their service is a five-year term.
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