#1
Pepperstone Group Limited
Suspicious CloneAustraliaEst. 2010ASIC
Regulation
License
Spread
81.4Score
Twenty-six brokers in the WIKILIX database list a licence from BaFin, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, and this page is the complete register of them, ordered by overall score. It keeps the entries a promotional shortlist quietly drops. 18 carry our clean "regulation" status. The other 8 do not: 2 are recorded as holding no regulation, 4 are flagged as suspicious clones, 1 is flagged as a scam, and 1 has no status on file.
The highest-scoring rows show why the flag matters. NSBroker, a Malta firm that opened in 2011, scores 67 and still sits inside the top eight, yet our records flag it as a scam. Two suspicious clones, Blackwell Global and Triomarkets, score even higher. FX Connect and KEB Hana Bank rank second and third on score while carrying a recorded "no regulation" status.
| Broker | Score | Opened | Other authorities on file | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMS TRADE (Pepperstone Group) | 79.9 | 2010 | ASIC, FCA, CySEC | Clean |
| FX Connect | 78 | 1996 | FCA, FinCEN, SEC | No regulation |
| KEB Hana Bank | 74.7 | 1971 | FSS, SEC, SFC | No regulation |
| UniCredit Bank GmbH | 71.8 | 2009 | FCA, SFC, MAS | Clean |
| Blackwell Global | 70 | 2010 | FCA, SFC, CySEC | Suspicious clone |
| IG | 69.5 | 1974 | FCA, ASIC, MAS | Clean |
| Triomarkets | 69.4 | 2014 | CySEC, AMF, CONSOB | Suspicious clone |
| NSBroker | 67 | 2011 | MFSA, AMF, CONSOB | Scam |
What a BaFin line in a licence list actually means
BaFin sits in our data as a tier-1, onshore authority, and it supervises German banks and investment firms. A BaFin entry against a broker can mean one of a few things: a direct German authorisation, an EU passport notification from a firm licensed in another member state, or, on the flagged rows, a name a clone has borrowed to look legitimate. This list is generated from a single query, every broker whose recorded regulator set includes BaFin, sorted by score, with no hand-picking. Because that query reads our records rather than vetting firms, the scam and clone rows stay in, labelled instead of hidden.
Where these firms are actually based
Only 5 of the 26 are domiciled in Germany, among them fXFLAT Bank, s broker, Trade Republic and Consorsbank. The rest are headquartered outside it, from Australia to Cyprus. A BaFin line tells you a firm holds some registration or passport BaFin recognises. It does not tell you the company answers to a German court, and it does not record whether the firm will accept you as a client from your own country. 15 of the 26 also hold an FCA licence, and 22 hold licences from two or more authorities, so most of these names appear on several of our regulator pages at once.
Age and leverage across the register
Opening dates run from 1870, the year on file for Commerzbank, to 2019 for Admirals, and 12 of the 26 opened before 2010. Leverage is uneven because the register mixes business models. Share-dealing and banking entries such as DEGIRO and Trade Republic show a 1:1 cap, while Admirals lists an offshore entity at 1:1000 and six firms sit at 1:500. The median score across the 26 is 62.1, and individual scores run from 49.3 up to 79.9.
Before you rely on a BaFin entry
- Read the status flag on this page first. A scam or clone label means the BaFin name may be borrowed rather than earned.
- Check whether the listing is a direct German authorisation or an EU passport notification from a firm licensed in another member state.
- Match the exact legal entity, not the brand. Pepperstone appears twice here under two group companies with different scores.
- Confirm the registration on BaFin's own company database using the firm's registration number before you deposit.
38brokers on this list
Researched & ranked by the Wikilix team
- #2
FX Connect
No RegulationUnited KingdomEst. 1996FCA
RegulationLicenseSpread78.0Score - #3
KEB Hana Bank
No RegulationSouth KoreaEst. 1971FSS
RegulationLicenseSpread77.7Score - #4
CMC Markets UK plc
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 1989FCARegulationLicenseSpread72.8Score - #5
UniCredit Bank GmbH
RegulatedFranceEst. 2009BaFin
RegulationLicenseSpread71.8Score - #6
Blackwell Global Investments Limited
Suspicious CloneBahamasEst. 2010FCA
RegulationLicenseSpread70.7Score - #7
IG Group Limited
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 1974ASIC
RegulationLicenseSpread70.2Score - #8
Triomarkets Capital Ltd
Suspicious CloneMauritiusEst. 2014CySEC
RegulationLicenseSpread69.4Score - #9
FS International Limited
Suspicious CloneVanuatuEst. 2015CySEC
RegulationLicenseSpread67.0Score - #10
NSBroker
ScamMaltaEst. 2011MFSA
RegulationLicenseSpread67.0Score - #11
FXTIME
RegulatedCyprusEst. 2011FSCA
RegulationLicenseSpread66.0Score - #12
GMA CAPITAL
RegulatedArgentinaEst. 2016BaFin
RegulationLicenseSpread64.5Score
This register rebuilds itself from our licence records, so a broker that gains or loses a BaFin entry, or has its status flag changed, moves on this page without anyone editing the copy. We recheck the underlying records on our normal review cycle, and the flags shown reflect what was on file when you loaded the page. Confirm any licence on BaFin's own register before you act on it, because a marketing footer is not the same as an active authorisation.
Readers comparing German-supervised firms usually look next at the wider tier-1 picture and at the other European authorities these same brokers hold. Our FCA regulated brokers list is a natural next step, since 15 of the names here also hold a UK licence. The tier-1 brokers scoring 70 or higher shortlist isolates the strongest-scoring firms, and the CONSOB regulated brokers register applies the same complete-register method to Italy. Nothing here is a recommendation. It is a description of what our records hold on the day you read it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions
Answers from the Wikilix research team about this ranking.
Most Popular Questions
This list cannot tell you. It is built from each broker's recorded licences and head office, and the WIKILIX database does not store which countries a firm accepts clients from. Some entries are German banks that serve residents only, others are global groups with several entities. Check the specific broker's own terms, and the entity you would actually sign with, before you register.
A BaFin entry can be legitimate passporting, where an EU-licensed firm notifies BaFin to serve German clients, or it can be misuse, where a clone lists a well-known authority to look credible. Our records separate the two with a status flag. Of the 26 here, the entries marked suspicious clone or scam are exactly the ones where a BaFin claim deserves the most scrutiny.
The high leverage advertised by these brands almost never comes from their BaFin-supervised entity. BaFin caps retail leverage under EU rules, and several names here are banks or share-dealing firms, such as DEGIRO and Trade Republic, that show a 1:1 cap. Where you see 1:500 at six firms, or 1:1000 at Admirals, that figure attaches to a non-EU arm of the group, not the German licence.
15 of the 26 also hold a UK Financial Conduct Authority licence, among them IG, Pepperstone, UniCredit and Admirals. 22 of the 26 hold licences from two or more authorities in total. That overlap is why the same names recur across our regulator rankings, and it is worth cross-checking each licence on the relevant register rather than trusting one line.
No, and this register keeps the flagged entries on purpose. One firm, NSBroker, is recorded as a scam, and four more, including Blackwell Global and Triomarkets, are flagged as suspicious clones that appear to borrow a regulator's name. A BaFin line in a broker's footer is a claim to check, not a guarantee, so read the status column before anything else.
No. Only 5 of the 26 brokers here are domiciled in Germany, including fXFLAT Bank, s broker and Trade Republic. The rest are headquartered elsewhere and hold BaFin recognition through an EU passport or a specific registration. A BaFin entry describes a licence, not a head office, and it does not tell you which country's courts a dispute would fall under.
Commerzbank, with a recorded opening date of 1870, is the oldest entry on the register. IG follows at 1974 and KEB Hana Bank at 1971. 12 of the 26 opened before 2010, while the newest, Admirals, is dated 2019. Age here is taken straight from each firm's recorded opening date, not from marketing claims.
Twenty-six brokers in the WIKILIX database record a BaFin licence, and all 26 appear here. 18 carry our clean "regulation" status, 2 are recorded as holding no regulation, 4 are flagged as suspicious clones, and 1 is flagged as a scam, with one further entry that has no status on file. The page is the complete register, not a shortlist.