Because the company that opens your account is licensed in the EU, EU law sets the main terms here. The broker can’t change them. Most private traders fall into the standard category of retail client. As one, you get leverage of at most 30:1 on major currency pairs (ESMA, ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796). Leverage lets you open a trade bigger than the money you put down. By law you also have negative balance protection. At the global companies on the hub, protection varies from one company to the next (offshore brokers).
Key points
- Negative balance protection is a legal right that every retail client of the EU companies here enjoys. Your account can’t finish up owing the firm more than it holds (is trading safe).
- Wherever a company publishes its figure, the leverage column shows 30:1 because every retail client of a European company gets at most 30:1 on major currency pairs. Either way, the column doesn’t separate one broker from another (maximum leverage).
- The moment you sign up settles which company takes you on. If you apply through the group’s local site you’ll usually land at the company on this page, though nothing guarantees it. You may end up at the global company if you apply another way (offshore brokers).
- Client money at an EU company must be kept apart from the firm’s own, so it isn’t the firm’s to use. If the firm fails, its creditors can’t claim that money (choosing a provider).
The licensed company, and the group’s other one
The licensed company appears first on every row because it usually signs you up if you live in one of these countries. The global company comes second and is where the advertised leverage figure comes from. The stance column shows what the global company’s own terms say about people living in the countries on the row. The column covers the terms only. If the terms say nothing, the table records “not mentioned either way”. Silence doesn’t mean the company accepts you. Some groups also send sign-ups from these countries to their EU company, as Eightcap and XTB do, and the offshore brokers page records that.
| Provider | Countries | You would be onboarded to | Its retail maximum | Also in the group | Its stance on the countries listed | Its retail maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 CMC Markets | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | CMC Markets Germany GmbH | 30:1 | CMC Markets Bermuda Ltd | Not mentioned either way | 200:1 |
 Eightcap | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | Eightcap EU Ltd | 30:1 | Eightcap International Ltd | Not mentioned either way | 500:1 |
 IG | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal | IG Europe GmbH | 30:1 | IG International Limited | Not established | 200:1 |
 Pepperstone | Germany | Pepperstone GmbH | 30:1 | Pepperstone Markets Limited | Excluded as part of the EU | n/a |
| Pepperstone | France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | Pepperstone EU Limited | 30:1 | Pepperstone Markets Limited | Excluded as part of the EU | n/a |
 XTB | Germany | XTB S.A. German Branch | 30:1 | XTB International Limited | Not mentioned either way | 500:1 |
| XTB | Spain | XTB SA, Sucursal en España | 30:1 | XTB International Limited | Not mentioned either way | 500:1 |
| XTB | France | XTB S.A Succursale française | 30:1 | XTB International Limited | Not mentioned either way | 500:1 |
| XTB | Italy, Poland | XTB S.A. | 30:1 | XTB International Limited | Not mentioned either way | 500:1 |
| XTB | Portugal | XTB, S.A - Sucursal em Portugal | 30:1 | XTB International Limited | Not mentioned either way | 500:1 |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Leverage at the licensed company
Leverage at a European company is capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs for every retail client, with lower ratios on other assets (leverage and margin). That cap comes from a rule of ESMA, the EU’s markets regulator. The rule binds every company licensed in the EU, including the Cyprus, German and Polish companies on this page (ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796). What varies among them is what each one tells you about how its leverage works before you deposit.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | Countries | Highest retail leverage | Tier table | Tiers apply across | Notice before a change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMC Markets | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | 30:1 | Applied, not published | NP | Three business days where possible |
| Eightcap | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | 30:1 | NP | NP | NP |
| IG | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal | 30:1 | Published, with figures | Each instrument | None promised |
| Pepperstone | Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | 30:1 | NP | NP | NP |
| XTB | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal | 30:1 | Published, with figures | The whole account | Given after the change |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
What the licence carries with it
With a licence in the EU, retail clients get two protections. Negative balance protection means you can’t owe the firm more than the balance in your account if the market moves sharply against you. At a European company, the law gives you that right, so the broker’s goodwill doesn’t come into it. The firm has to keep your money separate from its own. These protections aren’t guaranteed at a global company. Some global companies provide negative balance protection as a right under their regulator’s rules or their contract, but others only offer it at their discretion. The hub shows the same brokers at their global companies.
Platforms, funding and what you can trade can differ between a group’s companies, as the United Kingdom and Australia pages show. This page has no such tables for the EU companies. The hub shows such tables for the global companies, so check the EU company’s own site before you assume the same applies to it.
Risk warning
The cap limits the product’s risk, and it does not make it safe
Worked arithmetic: the numbers follow from the formula given in this section.
A 30:1 cap restricts how quickly a trade can lose money, but it doesn’t make the trade safe. Your margin is the deposit that keeps the trade open, and at 30:1 it’s about 3.3 % of the trade’s size. If the price moves a little over 3 % against you, your margin is wiped out. Most retail accounts at authorised firms lose money over time (is trading safe).
Before you open any account, read the risk disclosure. The choosing a provider page goes through the checks that matter more than any table.
Sources
The original documents this page cites, in the order they first appear.
- European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA
- ESMA Decision (EU) 2018/796 of 22 May 2018 to temporarily restrict contracts for differences in the Union, Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex), 2018-05-22