Authority and scope
Sections ↑BaFin is Germany’s integrated financial supervisor. It oversees investment firms, banks, insurers, asset managers and other financial businesses, while also working on market integrity, money-laundering prevention and collective consumer protection. Established on 1 May 2002, it has offices in Bonn and Frankfurt am Main.[1]
BaFin’s responsibilities include the soundness of supervised institutions and the integrity of the wider system. It works with the Deutsche Bundesbank and participates in European supervisory and resolution arrangements. Supervision does not guarantee a trading outcome or replace the account’s actual custody and compensation terms.[1]
Registers and permission checks
Sections ↑What the company search establishes
| Record or check | How to interpret it |
|---|---|
| Authorised company | Match the legal name and the particular permission to the service being offered.Source 2 |
| Notified company | A record may concern a business operating through a notification process rather than a German domestic licence.Source 2 |
| Representative office | Presence in the database does not automatically mean permission to execute investment trades.Source 2 |
Match the permitted activity to the contracting company. Broker profiles linked by this publication are editorial coverage, not the authority’s complete register.[2]
Check the exact legal entity, permissions, current status and scope in the official record. A brand connection in our coverage does not establish authorisation.
Rules for firms and products
Sections ↑Germany has national product-intervention measures in addition to the general investment-services framework. The 2019 CFD decision should be consulted for retail CFD restrictions; the earlier 2017 additional-payment prohibition is not a complete statement of that later framework. A separate 2022 intervention addresses futures with additional-payment obligations.[4][6]
Keep the product and permission separate
| Subject | What it means |
|---|---|
| CFDs | Read the national CFD measure and its retail-client application together with the provider’s agreement. Do not apply a professional account’s terms to a retail account.Source 4 |
| Futures | Read the futures measure’s scope and exceptions; an exchange listing alone does not resolve whether additional-payment exposure may be passed to a retail client.Source 6 |
| Cross-border firm | A notified firm can have a home-country supervisor and compensation scheme. A BaFin search result is not proof that German compensation applies.Source 2Source 5 |
Complaints and redress
Sections ↑Complaints and personal redress
| Route | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Complain to the firm in writing | Request a written response and retain the agreement, statements and correspondence.Source 3 |
| Submit information to BaFin | The authority can examine complaints about supervised companies and seek their response.Source 3 |
| Individual dispute or compensation | BaFin does not issue binding judgments requiring a firm to pay a customer; courts and appropriate dispute-resolution bodies have separate roles.Source 3 |
| Deadlines | A BaFin complaint does not stop contractual deadlines or limitation periods.Source 3 |
Compensation and firm failure
Sections ↑EdW covers eligible claims from securities transactions when a company assigned to that scheme cannot meet its obligations. BaFin determines the compensation event and publishes it in the Federal Gazette. The amount is 90% of the qualifying claim, subject to a EUR 20,000 maximum per investor; the scheme also identifies currency and statutory eligibility exclusions.[5]
Apply the scheme to the claim
| Subject | What it means |
|---|---|
| EUR 10,000 eligible receivable | Illustration: 90% gives EUR 9,000, assuming the entire claim qualifies.Source 5 |
| EUR 30,000 eligible receivable | Illustration: EUR 27,000 before the cap; maximum EUR 20,000.Source 5 |
| Which institution? | Confirm EdW assignment. Banks and cross-border providers may fall under different compensation arrangements.Source 5 |
| Which loss? | Non-return of a covered receivable is different from an investment falling in value. A regulatory complaint is not a scheme claim.Source 5 |
Official contacts and resources
Sections ↑Official documents for follow-up
Scope Firm identity, authorisation/notification category and activity.
Scope Regulatory review; personal redress and limitation periods remain separate.
National CFD product-intervention measure
- Responsible body
- BaFin
- Scope
- 2019 national CFD restrictions; distinguish current national intervention from the 2017 measure.
- Resource availability
- Available
- Checked
- Source 4
EdW investor compensation framework
- Responsible body
- Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen
- Scope
- 90% of covered securities-transaction claims, capped at EUR20,000; trigger, institution and exclusions matter.
- Resource availability
- Available
- Checked
- Source 5
Futures product-intervention measure
- Responsible body
- BaFin
- Scope
- Futures with additional-payment exposure are addressed by a separate national measure.
- Resource availability
- Available
- Checked
- Source 6
Resource availability describes the documented route. It does not establish eligibility, authorisation or compensation coverage.
Report misconduct, scams or a clone
Sections ↑This profile has not yet established the applicable procedure, receiving body and eligibility for this task. Consult the authority’s official resources and check your firm, product and circumstances before acting.
Sources & further reading
- BaFin at a glance BaFin · Accessed 9 Oct 2026
- Company database: scope and search link BaFin · Accessed 9 Oct 2026
- Submitting a complaint to BaFin BaFin · Accessed 9 Oct 2026
- National CFD product-intervention measure BaFin · Accessed 15 Oct 2026
- EdW investor compensation framework Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen · Accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Futures product-intervention measure BaFin · Accessed 15 Oct 2026
A documented resource is not a finding of eligibility or compensation coverage. Consult the named body and current official terms for your firm, product and circumstances.
Report an error or submit an update
Covered broker profiles
Profiles connected to this authority in our coverage. This is not a complete official register or a list of approved brokers; see each entity’s dated status.
comdirect
A comprehensive German account guide covering the new Pure Depot, the full comdirect Depot, legacy custody conditions, trading platforms, savings, CFDs, Eurex derivatives, currency accounts, portfolio credit, custody and family services.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Quickborn, Germany; contracting bank headquartered in Frankfurt am Main
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
Consorsbank
German retail profile covering ordinary securities dealing, RISE Young and Junior promotions, eleven activity tiers, foreign-currency accounts, FutureTrader, CFDs, UpTrade, savings plans and banking.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Nürnberg, Germany; BNP Paribas S.A. parent in Paris, France
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
DKB Broker
A detailed German profile of DKB Broker’s individual, joint and junior accounts, order tiers, venue surcharges, savings plans, eligible products, portfolio transfers, custody, banking integration and client safeguards.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Berlin, Germany
- Sources checked
- 15 Oct 2026
finanzen.net ZERO
A detailed German profile of ZERO’s securities and child accounts, direct crypto, daily fractional execution, Saturday quotes, lending, payment controls, referral cash and the DonauCapital–Baader–Tangany service chain.
- Operating status
- Active
- Sources checked
- 14 Oct 2026
flatex
A detailed guide to the German flatex account: venue costs, recurring investment, direct crypto and crypto ETNs, CFD margin and financing, foreign-currency accounts, portfolio loans, managed investing, custody and practical service routes.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
GBE brokers
Classic, Pro and VIP tiers sit alongside MT4, MT5 and TradingView. This reference compares Cyprus account terms, identifies commission-document conflicts, and separates emergency dealing, inactivity, JFD transfers and individual versus aggregate insurance limits.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Limassol, Cyprus; Hamburg branch
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
ING Germany
A detailed guide to ING Germany’s securities accounts, including age-based prices, venue and currency charges, recurring investment, trading permissions, cash settlement, transfers, custody, family accounts and Smart Invest.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
maxblue
Deutsche Bank’s German brokerage: individual, joint and child accounts; securities and Direct Trade; current ETF promotions; currency accounts, custody protection, transfers, support and DepotKredit.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany (Deutsche Bank AG)
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
N26 Stocks and ETFs
A European reference to N26 app-based stock, ETF and ETC investing through Upvest, including transaction prices, free-trade plan allowances, savings plans, trading windows, buying power, portfolio transfers and protection boundaries.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Berlin, Germany
- Sources checked
- 29 Oct 2026
RoboMarkets
RoboMarkets’ German retail business focuses on stocks and ETFs through Prime Stocks and Swedish ISK accounts. Its current published offer includes cash and margin trading, spread markups and a newly announced Baader Bank arrangement.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany — RoboMarkets Deutschland GmbH
- Sources checked
- 15 Oct 2026
Scalable Capital
A German securities broker with FREE and PRIME+ pricing, savings plans, cash products, portfolio credit and managed investing. Compare venue-specific charges, product structures, liquidity restrictions, account safeguards and practical service routes.
- Operating status
- Active
- Headquarters
- Munich, Germany
- Sources checked
- 11 Oct 2026
SMARTBROKER+
A German securities and crypto profile covering gettex and Xetra costs, activity-based benefits, API access, savings funding, partial fills, currency settlement, custody relationships and the limits of advertised cash interest.
- Operating status
- Active
- Sources checked
- 14 Oct 2026