Foreign brokers cancelled ruble pairs or imposed severe restrictions.
Similar to Iran, some companies stop working with residents of sanctioned countries, the list of working Forex brokers in Iran is available at the website: https://best-forex-brokers-in-iran.com/
The sanctions affected not only businesses in Russia, but also foreign companies that provide services in Russia and have Russian clients. But how badly have brokers been affected?
Companies working in the Forex and CFD segment have not directly experienced the negative consequences of the sanctions. But the fall in the rouble and in the shares of companies linked to Russia prompted brokers to monitor the situation closely and take action if necessary.
Indeed, all the sanctions have had a strong impact on the Russian ruble, which has fallen by about 35% against the U.S. dollar over the past few weeks. Ruble pairs are not among the most popular among traders, the high volatility alarmed many brokers.
Almost all Forex brokers have quickly changed the terms of trade with the ruble pairs. Some allowed only to close positions on currency pairs with the ruble, but most suspended trading indefinitely. These include Forex.com, Dukascopy, Alpari and FXOpen.
Nevertheless, several brokers, including IG, continued to trade in rubles, but increased the margin rate to 100%. “The situation in Ukraine and its global implications are changing rapidly. We are constantly monitoring financial market dynamics and changing legal and regulatory obligations around the world,” IG stated.
The broker has taken similar steps with regard to CFD trading and betting on shares of companies linked to Russia.
Blocking Russian clients
That’s not all. Many brokers that offered trading accounts with the ruble as the base currency have canceled that option. Earlier this month, Alpari notified its clients that it would transfer all ruble accounts to U.S. dollar accounts.
“We no longer offer ruble accounts, and this week we will convert all accounts that are now denominated in rubles to U.S. dollars,” the broker said in a statement. “In order to make this change, we need all open positions in your account to be closed.”
JustForex terminated all of its relationships with clients not only in Russia, but also in Belarus, a country that supports Russia’s military operation.
“First, our company decided to terminate all relationships with clients from the Russian Federation and Belarus. Opening new accounts for clients from these countries is prohibited,” the broker said in a statement.
Russian forex dealers are being reorganized
As for the Russian licensed Forex segment, its members continue to face significant challenges. For example, last Friday forex dealers VTB Capital Forex and Alfa-Forex informed their clients about the technical work, which aims to ensure stability.
“The company will conduct works this weekend, the purpose of which is to ensure stable quoting and quick transition to alternative channels in case foreign communication providers leave the Russian market,” Alfa-Forex said in a statement.
“In connection with the ongoing technical work to update and install new functional modules, the availability of some services may be limited, including limited access to the personal cabinet. We are working on improving the services provided to our clients”, VTB Capital Forex team informed.