Head of French AMF slams sponsors of Atletico Madrid
“Our Spanish friends tolerate the sponsorship of their football teams by financial intermediaries specialized in toxic products”, says AMF Chairman Robert Ophèle.
As the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) prepares to enforce restrictions on the offering of CFDs and binary options to retail investors, some European countries are apparently worried that the new rules will not be implemented in the same manner by all European Union members.
The issue was raised on Thursday, May 17, 2018, by Robert Ophèle, Chairman of the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). In a speech, accompanying the release of the AMF Annual Report for 2017, he stressed the importance of the fight against the offering of the so-called toxic products – binary options and high-leverage CFDs. The French regulator has managed to see some positive results in this respect after the introduction of the Sapin 2 law which prohibits the digital advertising and sponsoring of activities related to such products.
Mr Ophèle greeted the efforts of ESMA to impose restrictions on the offering of risky financial products. He noted that although ESMA will impose restrictions temporarily, the national regulators may impose them on a permanent basis.
“I observe, however, that this approach is far from homogenous in Europe as you have probably noticed yourself thanks to the match Marseille v Madrid. Our Spanish friends tolerate the sponsorship of their teams by financial intermediaries that specialize in toxic products, a practice that we were able to eradicate in France and that is prohibited by the Sapin 2 law”, says Robert Ophèle.
Below is a list of the sponsors of FC Atletico de Madrid, as they appear on the club’s website:
Indeed, the introduction of the Sapin 2 law saw a number of French football clubs terminate their partnership contracts with online trading companies, especially binary options brokers. Early in 2017, five clubs, including PSG, Olympique lyonnais and OGC Nice, had done so. But the practice continues in other European countries and this is what Mr Ophele has noted.
In the meantime, there is a new wave of complaints that AMF receives and it concerns cryptocurrencies. The contact center of the regulator received 700 enquiries about such products in the first four months of the year, Mr Ophele said. He added that the restrictions to be introduced by ESMA will also apply to CFDs on cryptocurrencies.
Feature photo credit: Alberto Molina.
