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CNMV Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores

The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) supervises Spain's securities markets and the firms that provide investment services in them. Its official registers are public and free, and a firm's entry sets out the exact services, instruments and client types it is authorised for. Clients of a Spanish investment firm are covered by the Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones up to 100,000 euros where the firm is declared insolvent and cannot return their assets. A complaint goes to the firm's own customer care service first, and then to the CNMV Complaints Service within one year.

Country
Spain
Jurisdiction
Government Reg.
Established in
1988
Forex Regulation
84
Overall Rating
19
Licensed Brokers
High
Transparency Index
Tier 1
Global Tier
IOSCO Member
FATF Member
The regulator
Updated

About CNMV

The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) supervises Spain's securities markets and the firms that provide investment services in them. Its official registers are public and free, and a firm's entry sets out the exact services, instruments and client types it is authorised for. Clients of a Spanish investment firm are covered by the Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones up to 100,000 euros where the firm is declared insolvent and cannot return their assets. A complaint goes to the firm's own customer care service first, and then to the CNMV Complaints Service within one year.

Tier 1
Brokers on the record
19
Compensation cap (ICF)
€20,000
Retail leverage cap
1:30
Cost of a licence
€50,000–100,000

The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) is the authority responsible for overseeing and supervising Spain's securities markets and related activities undertaken by all market participants. The CNMV was established under the Securities Market Law 24/1988, which introduced a comprehensive reform affecting this subsection of the Spanish financial system.

Since then, the CNMV's regulatory framework has been delivered on a dynamic basis to reflect changes in the financial markets and introduce new protections to investors.

The CNMV's primary purpose is to ensure the transparency of Spain's securities markets, maintain fair pricing, and protect the rights and interests of investors.

Core Functions and focus on supervision

The CNMV obtains large amounts of information from and about market participants and makes much of this information public in its official registers. CNMV's activities are concentrated mainly on:

• companies that are issuing or offering a publicly placed security on a secondary market

• investment service companies and collective investment schemes

For each of these participants, the CNMV prudentially supervises to promote transaction security and system solvency.

In addition, CNMV advises the Spanish Government and the Ministry of Economy on securities market matters and is involved internationally through organizations, including:

• IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions)

• ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority)

• FSB (Financial Stability Board)

Also, it collaborates very closely with the Ibero-American Institute of the Stock Market.

Supervision of the Primary Market

The primary securities market includes:

• New issues of fixed income or equity securities

• Public offerings of securities that already exist, aimed at collecting public savings

To safeguard transparency in the primary market, the CNMV has the role of ensuring that sufficient and accurate information is available to the market regarding both the issuer and the securities being offered.

To fulfill this role, the CNMV requires the issuer to file certain documents, including:

• Supporting documents in relation to public offering or issuance contracts

• Audited financial accounts of the issuer

• A prospectus that provides all necessary information, in an organized manner, for the investors to assess the issuer's financial status and the rights associated with the securities

Exemptions from the above requirements may be justified by the type of issuer, type of security, size of the offering, and/or the type and number of offers made to investors.

Supervision of the Secondary Market

The oversight of Spain's official secondary security markets and multilateral trading facilities is the responsibility of CNMV to ensure the relevant market is transparent, prices are based on accurate assessments, and secure trades are generally in place.

Spain's regulated secondary markets include:

• The Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Valencia Stock Exchanges, and therefore include the Society of the Exchanges, managing the electronic trading platform (mercado continuo - SIB)

• The government bond market, at the state level, is represented through a bookkeeping entry.

• The futures and options market (MEFF Exchange)

• The corporate debt and private fixed income market (AIAF)

In overseeing these regulated markets, the CNMV has several powers that enable it to fulfill its regulatory role. The most important of which is the provision of public access to information through its public registers, including:

• The approval of securities at listing to ensure legal and regulatory obligations are correctly accounted for.

• The process of disclosure of information about issues that can affect the price on the market

• Financial and commercial data of the listed companies

• Reported changes in significant shareholdings of listed companies

• Authorisation of takeover bids

                                       

On the record

Established
1988
Country
Spain
Oversight
Government body
Scope
Regulates forex and CFD brokers
Membership
IOSCO and FATF member
Transparency
High
Public register
Open the register
Website
cnmv.es
Phone
900 535 015
Hotline
900 535 015
Email
ServiciodereclamacionesCNMV@cnmv.es
Online contact
sede.cnmv.gob.es
Protection check

What a licence from CNMV protects

Under CNMV rules, client money at a licensed firm is covered by a compensation scheme, and a dispute the firm will not settle can go to CNMV Investor Service.

4 facts on record
  • Compensation schemeUp to €20000 (ICF)
  • Negative balance protection
  • Complaints routeCNMV Investor Service
  • Maximum leverage1:30

What is protected

Clients of a Spanish investment services company are covered by the Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones, set up under Royal Decree 948/2001, up to 100,000 euros. The cover is tied to insolvency: it applies where the investment firm is declared insolvent and cannot return the securities or financial instruments it held in deposit for the provision of investment services, so it is not cover for money lost on the investment itself. Where the investment service was provided by a credit institution, cover falls instead to the deposit guarantee funds. The fund a given firm belongs to is shown on its register record. Separately, the CNMV Complaints Service report is for information only, does not bind either party, cannot be appealed, and puts no figure on any loss, because only the courts can award money.

How to verify a licence

Start at the CNMV search of authorised entities (https://www.cnmv.es/portal/Consultas/BusquedaPorEntidad.aspx?tipoBusqueda=ESI) and type any word or phrase from the firm's registered name. A Spanish investment firm's record opens with its Nº Registro Oficial and the date it was entered on the register, followed by its address, share capital and the guarantee fund it belongs to. Open the Programa de actividades tab to see the four investment services, the ancillary services, the instrument classes and the client categories (retail, professional, eligible counterparties) the firm is actually authorised for, so a service the firm offers but the register does not list is worth asking about. Then run the same name through the search engine for unauthorised entities at https://www.cnmv.es/Portal/BusquedaAdvertencias.aspx. If the firm is not in the official register, the CNMV asks investors to contact it before dealing with that firm.

Open the registerOfficial website

How to complain

Write to the firm's own customer care service or customer ombudsman first, keeping a dated, stamped copy. That service has two months to issue a reasoned statement. If a month passes with no reply, or the reply does not satisfy you, you then have one year to file with the CNMV Complaints Service, by the electronic form in the Virtual Office or the PDF form sent to C/ Edison, 4, 28006 Madrid or C/ Bolivia 56, 4ª Planta, 08018 Barcelona. The Complaints Service will admit a claim only where no more than five years have passed since the events complained of. Once admitted, the firm has twenty-one calendar days to file pleadings, and the maximum period for resolving a complaint is ninety calendar days. There is an investor assistance line on 900 535 015, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 19:00.

Hotline
900 535 015
These are the rules CNMV sets for the firms it licenses, read from its own record. They say nothing about how any one broker applies them, or which of its companies would hold your account; that is checked on each broker's own page.
Licensing terms

Getting licensed by CNMV

A licence from CNMV costs €50,000–100,000 to obtain on the record and covers 7 instrument types.

€50,000–100,000
Licence types
MiFID Investment Firm Licence
Business models allowed
Retail Agency (STP); Market Maker (Principal); Provide Liquidity (PoP)
Cost to obtain
€50000-100000
Coverage
Spain - EU - global (with exceptions)
Not served
USA - North Korea - Iran - other sanctioned countries

7 instruments regulated

  • Forex
  • Options
  • Derivatives
  • Commodity
  • Binary option
  • Futures
  • CFD
From the documents
Reviewed

What CNMV's own documents say

18 facts read from 13 official documents published by CNMV, each quoted and linked to its source.

18 facts

Jurisdiction and scope

The CNMV supervises Spanish securities markets, issuers offering securities to the public, Spanish investment firms, crowdfunding platforms, collective investment scheme and venture capital managers, and the investment services provided by credit institutions. Spain's official secondary markets are the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges, the government bond market, the MEFF futures and options market and the AIAF fixed income market. Two boundaries matter to a trader. Where a credit institution provides investment services, risk controls, internal audit, safeguarding of client cash, continuity and outsourcing fall to the Bank of Spain rather than the CNMV. And European Economic Area firms operating in Spain under the freedom to provide services appear in CNMV lists on information supplied by their home authority, which remains responsible for it.

Using this regulator

Check the register before the first deposit and check it again against the specific service you are being sold, since a firm can be authorised for order reception and still not for portfolio management or advice. Note the official register number and the registration date, and keep them. Look up the firm's customer care department in the register too, because that is where a complaint has to start and because its Customer Defence Regulation is where the firm's own filing deadline is written. Diarise the one year window to escalate to the CNMV Complaints Service. Read the guarantee fund line on the register record so you know in advance whether a shortfall would fall to the Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones or to a deposit guarantee fund. If the firm is European Economic Area based and providing services into Spain, expect its conduct supervision to sit with its home authority.

Good to know

This dossier covers the CNMV's licensing scope, its public registers, the complaints procedure and the investor compensation fund.

Key facts

KeyVerifying a licence

Confirm a firm in the CNMV search of authorised entities

It takes about a minute and settles the one question that matters before a deposit: whether the firm is on Spain's official register at all, and for the service it is actually offering you.

The CNMV points investors to a single search engine to check whether a firm is authorised for a specific investment service, and it asks investors to contact the CNMV first if the firm does not appear in the official register.

To verify whether or not an entity is authorised to provide a specific investment service, please use this search engine.
Quoted in Warnings (unauthorised firms and other entities)Read the source
Si no encuentra en el Registro Oficial la entidad que busca, es aconsejable que realice una consulta a la CNMV antes de operar con ella.
Quoted in Who are the authorised bodies?Read the source
Search official registers for information filed about a company
Quoted in Search of authorised entitiesRead the source

Where in the document: Warnings (unauthorised firms and other entities), foot of page

  • public register
  • license verification
  • retail clients
KeyCompensation scheme

Investor compensation is capped at 100,000 euros per investor

EUR 100,000

It sets the ceiling on what a client can recover if the firm fails, and it fixes what triggers a payout: insolvency and an inability to return assets, not a losing position.

The Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones, governed by Royal Decree 948/2001, provides cover up to a limit of 100,000 euros where an investment services company is declared insolvent and cannot return the securities or financial instruments it held in deposit.

Sistema de indemnización de los inversores, regulado en el RD 948/2001. Ofrece cobertura, hasta un límite de 100.000 euros, cuando la empresa de servicios de inversión sea declarada insolvente y no pueda restituir los valores o instrumentos financieros que tuviera en depósito por la realización de servicios de inversión.
QuotedRead the source
Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones (FOGAIN)
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Financial Glossary, entry Fondo de Garantía de Inversiones

  • retail clients
  • compensation
  • insolvency
KeyHow to complain

One year to take a complaint to the CNMV Complaints Service

Both clocks run against the client. Miss the year and the escalation route closes, however strong the underlying case.

A complaint goes to the firm's customer care service first, which has two months to reply. After one month without a reply, or on an unsatisfactory reply, the client has one year to file with the CNMV Complaints Service, and the Service will admit a claim only where no more than five years have passed since the events complained of.

The customer care departments or services and, where appropriate, the customer ombudsman, have two months to issue a reasoned statement, starting from the date of receipt of the complaint. Should you not receive a response within one month, or if you are not satisfied with the reply provided, you will have a period of one year to file a complaint with the Complaints Service.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source
The Complaints Service may admit the claim as long as no more than five years have passed since the events subject to the complaint occurred and up to the date of the filing the claim with the entity's customer service department or the client’s ombudsman.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source

Where in the document: Complaints, section How to file a complaint, Before entities

  • retail clients
  • complaint deadline
  • escalation
KeyWhat is protected

The Complaints Service report is not binding and awards no money

A favourable report is useful evidence and the firm must tell the supervisor what it did about it, but getting money back still runs through the firm or the courts.

The final report of the CNMV Complaints Service is for information only, does not bind either party, is not an actionable administrative act, and puts no figure on any loss, because only the courts can recognise that kind of request.

Is merely for informative purposes and is not binding on the parties. However, the entity must inform the supervisor of the steps taken in relation to resolved claims with a favourable report issued to the complaining party.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source
It does not provide for economic valuations of the possible damages caused to users of financial services, since only the courts of justice can recognise this type of request.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source

Where in the document: Complaints, section Before the Complaints Service

  • retail clients
  • complaint outcome
  • redress
KeyScope of authorisation

Authorisation covers named services, not investment services generally

A firm can be genuinely registered and still be outside its permissions for the service it is selling you, so the check is firm plus service, not firm alone.

The CNMV states that not every firm providing investment services is authorised for every activity, that each firm defines its services in its programme of activities, and that the official registers are where an investor checks which services a given firm may offer.

No todas las empresas que prestan servicios de inversión están autorizadas para realizar todas las actividades. Por lo tanto, el inversor debe asegurarse de que la empresa con la que opera está autorizada para ofrecerle los servicios que está demandando.
Quoted in Who are the authorised bodies?Read the source
Sólo las entidades autorizadas pueden prestar servicios de inversión. Cada entidad define estos servicios en su programa de actividades. Conozca si la entidad que le ofrece el servicio, está autorizada para ello.
QuotedRead the source
Para saber qué entidades están autorizadas, así como los servicios que puede ofrecer cada una y las tarifas máximas que pueden aplicar, deben consultarse los registros oficiales de la CNMV.
Quoted in Who are the authorised bodies?Read the source

Where in the document: Who are the authorised bodies?, and Investor guidance

  • public register
  • retail clients
  • scope of authorisation
KeyJurisdiction and limits

EEA firms listed in Spain are supervised by their home authority

Finding a broker in a CNMV list does not always mean the CNMV authorised it. A passported EEA firm answers to its home regulator, which is where authorisation questions and much of the conduct supervision sit.

For European Economic Area investment firms operating in Spain with or without an establishment, the register information is supplied to the CNMV by the national competent authority of the member state of origin, which is responsible for its accuracy and regulatory compliance.

“The information available in the registers of European Economic Area investment companies operating in Spain with or without an establishment is submitted to the CNMV by the National Competent Authorities of the corresponding place of origin of the Member State, who are responsible for ensuring that the information submitted is accurate and in compliance with the regulations”.
Quoted in List of European Economic Area Investment Firm under the freedom of providing servicesRead the source

Where in the document: List of European Economic Area Investment Firm under the freedom of providing services, note above the list

  • public register
  • jurisdiction
  • passporting

More facts, by topic

One search confirms a firm, a second covers public warningsTwo free CNMV searches answer the licensing question. The search of authorised entities takes any part of a firm's registered name and returns its official register number, registration date and permitted services. A separate search covers entities named in the CNMV's public warnings, and the CNMV asks investors who cannot find a firm in the official register to contact it before dealing with that firm.1 fact
UsefulVerifying a licence

A second search covers entities named in public warnings

Absence from the warnings list is not a clean bill of health, and presence on the other entities list is a flag rather than a finding. Read it alongside the register, never instead of it.

The CNMV runs a separate search engine for entities named in public alert groups, searchable on a full or partial name. Its list of other entities is described as not exhaustive, and inclusion does not mean a formal decision has been taken on whether their activity complies with current rules.

Use the Search engine for unauthorised entities to find out whether an entity has been included in one of the above mentioned public alert groups. To use this engine, type the entity’s full name, or a part of it.
Quoted in Warnings (unauthorised firms and other entities)Read the source
The list is not exhaustive and has been obtained mainly through searches and analysis carried out on the internet and social networks. Inclusion on the list does not mean that a formal decision has been issued as to whether or not the possible activity of the corresponding entities complies with current regulations.
Quoted in Warnings (unauthorised firms and other entities)Read the source

Where in the document: Warnings (unauthorised firms and other entities)

  • public register
  • due diligence
  • warnings
The registers are public, free and open without restrictionNine cents a page is what a paper copy of register documentation costs, while the contents themselves can be consulted online for free and without restriction. Registration means the filing contains what the rules require, and the CNMV states it takes on no liability for misstatements within a filed document. Disciplinary penalties stay on the public sanctions register for five years.3 facts
UsefulPublic register

Registration confirms the filing, not the accuracy of its content

It marks the line between a firm being registered and a firm's claims being vouched for. The register proves status and permissions, not the truth of everything a firm files.

The CNMV states that inclusion of a document in its Official Registers means only that the document contains the information required by the rules governing its content, and in no event creates liability on the CNMV's part for any misrepresentations in it.

The CNMV´s Official Registers are public and their contents may be accessed without restrictions.
QuotedRead the source
Inclusion of a document in the CNMV´s Official Registers only entails acknowledgement by the CNMV that it contains all the information required under the rules governing its content but in no event establishes liability on the part of the National Securities Market Commission for any misrepresentations contained therein.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: CNMV functions, section Official Registers of the CNMV

  • public register
  • scope of authorisation
  • disclosure
UsefulPublic register

Disciplinary penalties stay on the public register for five years

It is a free way to see whether a firm has a recent disciplinary record, and it tells you how far back that record reaches before entries drop off.

The CNMV publishes the measures adopted and the penalties imposed for infringements, with very serious and serious infringements going into the public sanctions register. The information is kept in the register for five years, and the CNMV may keep the sanctioned person anonymous.

The information is kept in the register for five years.
QuotedRead the source
In accordance with the provisions of Article 334 of Law 6/2023 of March 17 on Securities Markets and Investment Services, as well as Article 94 bis of Law 35/2003 of November 4 on Collective Investment Institutions, the CNMV publishes on its website the measures adopted and the sanctions imposed for infringements, and may, where appropriate, maintain the anonymity of the sanctioned person.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Public registry of disciplinary penalties imposed by the CNMV

  • public register
  • enforcement
  • due diligence
ContextPublic register

Register copies cost nine cents per page

EUR 0.09

Where a document is not published online, there is a stated, low priced route to a copy, which matters if you need register material in a dispute.

The contents of the Official Registers can be consulted on the CNMV website free of charge. Copies of documentation held in the registers may be obtained at a cost of 0.09 euro per page, plus shipping where applicable.

Copies of documentation contained in the CNMV´s Official Registers may be obtained at a cost of 0.09 euro per page (plus shipping expenses, if any).
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: CNMV functions, section Official Registers of the CNMV

  • public register
  • access
  • cost
Client cash at a credit institution sits with the Bank of SpainThe CNMV monitors whether firms adopt measures to safeguard clients' instruments and cash, but where a credit institution provides the investment service, safeguarding of client cash, risk controls, internal audit, continuity and outsourcing fall to the Bank of Spain. The compensation route follows the same split: bank clients look to the deposit guarantee funds instead.1 fact
UsefulClient-money rules

Client cash at a bank is overseen by the Bank of Spain

If your account sits with a bank rather than an investment firm, the authority to approach about how your cash is held is a different one, and so is the compensation scheme behind it.

The CNMV monitors organisational requirements including measures to safeguard clients' instruments and cash. Where a credit institution provides investment services, safeguarding of client cash, risk controls, internal audit, continuity and outsourcing fall within the remit of the Bank of Spain.

In the case of credit institutions providing investment services, in accordance with the distribution of powers laid down by law among the CNMV and the Bank of Spain, the obligations related to risk controls, internal audit, safeguarding the cash of clients, continuity and outsourcing of functions fall within the remit of the Bank of Spain.
QuotedRead the source
En caso de que el servicio de inversión haya sido prestado por una entidad de crédito, la cobertura correspondería a los Fondos de Garantía de Depósitos (en establecimientos bancarios, cajas de ahorros y cooperativas de crédito).
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: CNMV functions, section How the CNMV acts with regard to the market participants

  • client money
  • segregation
  • jurisdiction
One year to escalate, ninety days for an answerOne year is the window to take a complaint to the CNMV Complaints Service after the firm replies, or after a month of silence, and the Service will only admit claims about events from the last five years. The firm's own filing deadline is set in its Customer Defence Regulation. Once a complaint is admitted, ninety calendar days is the maximum period for resolving it.2 facts
UsefulHow to complain

Ninety calendar days is the limit for resolving a complaint

90 days

It tells a client roughly when to expect an answer, and what the file should look like: the firm's pleadings come back to you for comment before anything is decided.

Once a complaint is admitted, the firm has twenty-one calendar days to file pleadings and the complainant twenty-one calendar days to respond to them. The maximum period for resolving a complaint is ninety calendar days.

The maximum period for resolving complaints is ninety calendar days. If this is not possible, this circumstance must be reported and the causes that have prevented it must be included in the final report.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source
Once admitted, the entity in relation to which the complaint has been submitted is notified of such complaint, so that it can file pleadings within a period of twenty-one calendar days.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source

Where in the document: Complaints, section Before the Complaints Service

  • retail clients
  • complaint deadline
  • process
UsefulHow to complain

The firm's own complaint deadline sits in its client defence rules

The first deadline a client meets is set by the firm, not by the CNMV, and it is written in a document most clients never open. Find it before you need it.

Every supervised firm runs a customer care service under a Customer Defence Regulation available in its offices and on its website, and the CNMV states that the deadline for submitting a complaint must be defined in that Regulation.

Its operation is provided for in a Customer Defence Regulation that can be consulted in their offices and on their website, if the contracts have been concluded by telematic means. The deadline for submitting a complaint must be defined in the Regulation.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source
Firstly, you must consult the Customer Care Service or Customer Ombudsman for the entity. The address of these services must be available in their offices or on their website. You can also consult it on the CNMV website.
Quoted in ComplaintsRead the source

Where in the document: Complaints, section Before entities

  • public register
  • retail clients
  • complaint deadline
Permissions are listed service by service and client by clientFour investment services sit at the core of a Spanish authorisation: order reception and transmission, discretionary portfolio management, placement of financial instruments and investment advice. The CNMV states plainly that not every firm is authorised for every activity, and each firm's register record maps its permissions across instrument classes and across retail, professional and eligible counterparty clients.1 fact
UsefulScope of authorisation

Contracts for differences sit inside the licensable instrument list

A CFD broker's permissions are checkable in the same place as anyone else's: the instrument columns on its register record show whether CFDs are among the instruments it may deal in, and for which client category.

Each firm's register record sets out the list of financial instruments under Article 3 of Royal Decree 814/2023, and financial contracts for differences are one of the classes on it, alongside transferable securities, money market instruments, fund units and derivatives.

LIST OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 3 OF SPANISH ROYAL DECREE 814/2023:
Quoted in Spanish investment firms information - Programa de actividadesRead the source
Financial contracts for differences.
Quoted in Spanish investment firms information - Programa de actividadesRead the source
En esta operativa no es necesario desembolsar la totalidad del capital que se necesitaría para comprar o vender directamente el activo subyacente, por lo que la inversión presentará un determinado nivel de apalancamiento (que dependerá del importe que los inversores deban depositar en concepto de garantía para cada operación).
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Spanish investment firms information, Programa de actividades

  • public register
  • scope of authorisation
  • cfd
Passported EEA firms answer to their home authorityRegister information on European Economic Area investment firms operating in Spain comes from the competent authority of their member state of origin, which is responsible for its accuracy. The CNMV's own remit runs to Spanish securities markets, issuers, investment firms, crowdfunding platforms and fund managers, and it now extends to crypto-asset and digital resilience obligations.1 fact
UsefulJurisdiction and limits

Crypto-assets and digital resilience are now within remit

It marks where the perimeter now runs for a Spanish client: a crypto-asset service provider can fall inside the same supervisor's remit as a securities broker.

The CNMV states that it has taken on responsibilities for crypto-assets following the entry into force of the European Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets, and in cybersecurity following the Regulation on digital operational resilience in the financial sector.

The CNMV has also assumed responsibilities regarding crypto-assets, following the entry into force of the European Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), and in cybersecurity, following the approval of the European Regulation on digital operational resilience in the financial sector (DORA).
Quoted in CNMV 2030: A supervisor for a new era, p.8Read the source

Where in the document: CNMV 2030, Introduction

  • scope of authorisation
  • crypto assets
  • mica
Retail clients hold the higher protection tier by defaultMost investors are retail clients, a category the CNMV describes as presumed to know less about financial markets and given a higher level of protection than professional clients. A retail client can ask to be treated as professional in defined circumstances, which moves them to the lower tier. It is worth reading any reclassification offer with that in mind.1 fact
ContextKey definitions

Retail client status carries the higher level of protection

Agreeing to be reclassified as professional moves you into the lower protection tier, which is worth knowing before signing anything a broker frames as an upgrade.

The CNMV defines a retail client as one who does not invest professionally and is therefore presumed to know less about financial markets, a category given a higher level of protection than a professional client. A retail client may ask to be treated as professional in certain circumstances and on meeting a set of requirements.

Es el que no invierte de manera profesional, por lo que se le presupone menor conocimiento de los mercados financieros. La mayor parte de los inversores se encuadran en esta categoría, a la que se otorga un nivel de protección superior al del cliente profesional. Bajo determinadas circunstancias y cumpliendo una serie de requisitos, un cliente minorista puede solicitar que se le considere profesional.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Financial Glossary, entries Cliente minorista and Cliente profesional

  • retail clients
  • definitions
  • client classification
A 1988 supervisor now rewriting parts of its rulebookThe CNMV was created by Securities Market Law 24/1988 and works within IOSCO, ESMA and the Financial Stability Board. It is currently consulting on a draft Circular that would simplify reporting and internal control rules for fund managers and repeal nine older Circulars, with comments open until 18 September 2026.2 facts
ContextOther useful facts

Created in 1988 and active in IOSCO, ESMA and the FSB

It places the licence in a recognised European and international framework, which is part of what a Spanish authorisation is worth to a client abroad.

The CNMV was created by Securities Market Law 24/1988 as the body responsible for the supervision and inspection of Spanish securities markets, and it takes part in international bodies including IOSCO, ESMA and the Financial Stability Board.

The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) is the body responsible for the supervision and inspection of Spanish securities markets and the activity of all those involved in them. The CNMV was created by Securities Market Law 24/1988, which represented a thorough reform of this segment of the Spanish financial system; and since then, its regime has been updated to adapt to the evolution of financial markets and to introduce new measures to protect investors.
QuotedRead the source
The CNMV actively participates in international institutions, such as IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions), ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) or FSB (Financial Stability Board).
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: CNMV functions, section CNMV functions

  • iosco
  • esma
  • institutional
ContextOther useful facts

Consultation on simplifying fund and investment firm rules

It shows which parts of the rulebook applying to Spanish managers and investment firms are being reworked, and gives the date by which anyone affected can put a view on record.

The CNMV opened a public consultation on 13 July 2026 on a draft Circular that would simplify reporting and internal control rules for collective investment scheme managers and repeal nine Circulars covering collective investment schemes and investment firms. Comments close on 18 September 2026.

Interested parties may submit comments until 18 September 2026.
Quoted in New public consultation on draft Circular to simplify regulations for fund managers and investment firms, p.1Read the source
It will also repeal nine Circulars regulating various aspects of CISs and Investment Firms (IFs), which have become obsolete, redundant or no longer serve a purpose under the current legislative framework.
Quoted in New public consultation on draft Circular to simplify regulations for fund managers and investment firms, p.1Read the source

Where in the document: Press release, 13 July 2026

  • rulebook
  • consultation
  • simplification

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