Solely those financial intermediaries authorized by or registered with the Commission satisfy the legal conditions to be able to offer financial services to the public in Belgium. Non-observance of those conditions constitutes a breach of financial legislation.

Supervision

Financial intermediaries authorized by or registered with the Commission are required to observe a series of regulations designed to protect investors. Such intermediaries are subject to Commission supervision or to comparable supervision (as in the case of financial intermediaries established in another Member State of the European Economic Area [EEA]).

Credit institutions and investment firms authorized by or registered with the Commission are subject to the Belgian protection scheme for deposits and financial instruments or to comparable schemes (as in the case of companies established in another EEA Member State).

In the case of a dispute with a credit institution or an investment firm, you may always have recourse to the mediation of the Ombudsman for bank sector and investment firm clients.

What is the greatest risk you run when you deal with persons lacking the requisite authorization ? When you entrust money or securities to a person lacking the requisite authorization, you risk losing everything. Indeed, swindlers are active both in Belgium and abroad. They can be very convincing and often give the impression of being trustworthy.