Regulator profile · BE
FSMA — Financial Services and Markets Authority (Belgium)
Tracked byBrokerlist Editorial · Independent review teamUpdated
The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is Belgium's conduct supervisor for financial markets, intermediaries, listed companies and consumer-facing financial products. It works alongside the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), which handles prudential supervision of banks and insurers.
Brokers in Belgium accepting residents under FSMA- Jurisdiction
- Belgium · all regions and language communities.
- Founded
- 2011
- Mandate
- Created by the 2011 Twin Peaks reform, replacing the prior CBFA. FSMA enforces conduct rules under the 2002 Financial Supervision Act and Belgian implementations of MiFID II, the Market Abuse Regulation and PRIIPs. It approves prospectuses, supervises asset managers and intermediaries, and runs financial-education programmes (Wikifin).
- Consumer protection
- Belgian deposit guarantee covers up to €100,000 per depositor at authorised banks via the Garantiefonds voor financiële diensten / Fonds de garantie. Investor compensation up to €20,000 per client of an authorised investment firm. Negative balance protection mandatory for retail CFD clients under MiFID II.
- Retail leverage caps
- ESMA-aligned: 1:30 on major FX pairs, 1:20 on minor pairs and gold, 1:10 on commodities and major indices, 1:5 on equities, 1:2 on crypto CFDs. Binary options are prohibited for retail clients in Belgium since the 2016 Royal Decree, predating the EU-wide ESMA ban.
- Public register
- FSMA maintains separate searchable registers for credit institutions, investment firms, asset managers and insurance distributors. The "warnings list" is published in parallel — names of unauthorised entities soliciting Belgian residents, updated regularly and shared with international counterparts. Open register ↗
- Dispute resolution
- Ombudsfin (Service de Médiation pour le consommateur financier) handles consumer-financial disputes — recommendations are non-binding but firms generally comply. Belgian courts for unresolved disputes; the Ombudsman of Insurance handles insurance-specific matters.
- Editor notes
- FSMA was an early mover on retail CFD/FX enforcement — the binary-options ban predates the EU consensus, and aggressive FX/CFD marketing practices have been the subject of repeated public warnings. EU-passported brokers (CySEC, MFSA, BaFin) account for most retail FX/CFD flow into Belgium; FSMA maintains coordination with the host regulators on conduct issues.
Brokers we track with a FSMA licence
No brokersNo tracked broker currently holds a FSMA licence in our database.