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Changing the amount of leverage - Brokers and dates overview
The product intervention of ESMA entered into force on 1 August 2018 of the year. The new regulations have brought many changes that predominantly affect retail Forex investors. Due to technical aspects, some brokers decided, for example, to introduce a leverage limit already before the date indicated by the regulator. How will the leverage on the Forex / CFD market change and when will the modifications become a fact with your broker? Check the following tables.
ESMA regulations expired on 1 on August 2019, however, all EU member states decided to introduce almost twin regulations at the national level for retail clients.
The instrument class and the lever
In the table below we present how the leverage will change in relation to particular classes of instruments together with their examples.
Lever before and after the ESMA regulation input
| The instrument class | Average lever before ESMA * | Leverage after ESMA |
| Main currency pairs: e.g. EUR / USD, GBP / USD, USD / JPY, USD / CAD, USD / CHF | 1:100 | 1:30 |
| Main indexes, e.g. DAX, SP500, Dow Jones | 1:50 | 1:20 |
| Gold | 1:50 - 1:100 | 1:20 |
| Other currency pairs, eg EUR / PLN, AUD / NZD, AUD / USD, NZD / USD | 1:100 | 1:20 |
| Other goods, e.g. sugar, oil, silver | 1:33 - 1:100 | 1:10 |
| Other indexes, e.g. Borsa Istambul 30, Ibex35Mini, WIG20 | 1:50 | 1:10 |
| CFDs for shares | 1:2 - 1:10 | 1:5 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 1:2 - 1:5 | 1:2 |
* Level of leverage that Forex brokers usually offered for particular groups of instruments
Brokers and ESMA
The table below contains information on the brokers described on our website in the face of leverage changes, terms and important dates.
The maximum level of leverage in brokers before and after the entry of the ESMA regulation
| Broker | * Previous leverage | Lever after ESMA | ** Leverage - Professional Client | Date of entry of 2018 changes. | Reducing the leverage for open positions before changes |
 | 1:100 | max. 1: 30 | 1:200 | 28 July | ***NO |
 | 1:100 | max. 1: 30 | - | 29 July | YES |
 | 1:100 | max. 1: 30 | 1:500 | 21 July | YES |
 | 1:100 | max. 1: 30 | 1:500 | 1 August | NEVER |
* Leverage limited to 1: 100 for Polish residents due to the KNF guidelines
** Read how to become a professional client in a separate article
*** With partial closure of open positions on MT4 accounts, a new level of collateral will automatically be taken over for the remainder
Changing the leverage and Stop-Out
Another important change is the establishment of a uniform level of the Stop-Out mechanism for all brokers from the European Union. Previously, there was no limit here, and the broker independently determined the level of Stop-Out (the ranges were even between 5% and 120%). From 1 August 2018, the 50% rule applies.
Some of the brokers decided to reduce the leverage for all positions, including those opened before 1 August 2018. This means that to keep them open, the condition of min. 50% of collateral on the day the changes were made.
