European Securities and Markets Authority
a.k.a. ESMA
The EU's markets watchdog, which sets common rules for brokers and markets across member countries.
In plain English
The EU's markets watchdog, which sets common rules for brokers and markets across member countries.
ESMA, based in Paris, works with national regulators to keep EU markets fair and investors protected.
Retail traders know it for the 2018 measures that capped leverage on CFDs and forex (30:1 on major pairs), required negative balance protection and banned binary options for retail clients. Those rules were later made permanent by national regulators.
Keep this word for good
Your free Private Swap Lounge saves the terms you’ve learned and quizzes you on them. Portal under construction. Expected delivery date is December 01, 2026.