Regulation Watch: EU Pressure Builds for Prop Firm Disclosure Rules

Industry contacts in Brussels and Frankfurt describe an accelerating set of informal consultations on whether retail-facing proprietary trading firms — particularly those marketing evaluations to consumers — should be subject to disclosure rules closer to those governing CFD brokers. No formal proposal has been published, but firms with EU customer bases are increasingly hiring compliance counsel in anticipation. The shape of any eventual rule is likely to hinge on whether evaluation fees are treated as a financial service or a training product.