5 Aug 2015 09:15
Press Release | 5 August 2015 |
TechFinancials Inc.
("TechFinancials", the "Company")
Completion of Administrative Sanction Procedure
As stated in the Company's AIM Admission Document dated 9 March 2015, the Company was subject to an administrative sanction procedure brought by the Consumer Protection Division of Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa ("Consob") and there was a risk that Consob could conclude that the Company, prior to the authorisation of its subsidiary company, B.O. TradeFinancials Limited, as a regulated broker under the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, provided investment services and activities in Italy in the absence of the required authorisations, and that the maximum penalty for such an offence for which the Company was severally liable was €500,000.
The Company is pleased to announce that the administrative sanction procedure is now complete and that the Company is now liable for a total amount of €10,000.
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For further information:
TechFinancials, Inc. | |
Asaf Lahav, Group Chief Executive Officer | asafl@techfinancials.com |
Yuval Tovias, Chief Financial Officer | www.group.techfinancials.com |
Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) | |
Melanie Frean/ Colin Aaronson | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 |
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Broker) | |
Patrick Claridge/ David Hignell/ John Howes | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7382 1100 |
Argento Capital Markets Limited (Financial Adviser) | |
Alan MacKenzie / Jim McGeever | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7093 0353 |
Media enquiries:
Abchurch Communications Limited | |
Jamie Hooper / Canace Wong | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7719 |
TechFinancials@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
Notes to editors:
TechFinancials was formed in 2009 to create a simplified trading solution for online brokers wanting to provide a platform for retail customers to trade in Binary Options. Founders Asaf Lahav, Eyal Rosenblum, Eyal Alon and Jeremy Lange, are a group of four experienced senior executives with technology, FOREX and online marketing backgrounds, while Chairman Christopher Bell has 20 years' experience in the gambling industry and was the chief executive officer of Ladbrokes plc until 2010.
The Group's platform is based on a proprietary pricing engine, which enables online brokers to price and market short-term Binary Options and Exotic Options. The Group launched a beta version of its platform with two online brokers: OptionFair, the Group's own online regulated broker, and www.24option.com, one of the largest Binary Option broker in the world today, in April and July 2010, respectively. The Group subsequently launched a live version of the platform in January 2011. In 2014, around 18% of all deposits which are made to trade Binary Options globally were processed using the Group's software. In early 2014, TechFinancials began to focus on the Asian market, securing distribution in Japan and China. The Group has experienced substantial growth, with revenues of almost US$15.5 million in FY 2014, an increase of approximately 85% compared to FY 2013.
Binary Options are well-suited to retail customers because no in-depth knowledge of the financial markets is required in order to trade. Sometimes referred to as an "all-or-nothing option", Binary Options either pay a fixed amount or nothing at all, depending on whether a certain condition is fulfilled when the option expires. By contrast, traditional or "Vanilla" options can have a range of outcomes. Binary Options can also serve as a gateway to more professional financial trading products such as FOREX.
Since the simplified Binary Options market was first introduced in 2008 by etrader.co.il, it has experienced significant growth, both in number of online brokers operating in the market and trading volumes. That growth is set to continue as the online trading market becomes better established and subject to increased regulation, which will result in larger and better known financial organisations entering the Binary Options market. It is estimated that the global trading of Binary Options will reach approximately US$13.61 billion for 2014 and US$29.81 billion in 2016. Europe is currently the world's leading market for Binary Options.
About OptionFair
The Group's own online broker, OptionFair (www.OptionFair.com), operates as a broker regulated by CySEC since September 2013. It serves retail customers based principally in Europe. Launched in 2010, OptionFair was one of the first online Binary Options brokers to be established and offers Binary Options referenced to a wide range of financial instruments and assets. OptionFair utilises the technology developed by TechFinancials and also assists TechFinancials in trialing and evaluating products that it has under development.
OptionFair is now one of the leading EU regulated online Binary Options brokerages, generating revenues of US$4.1 million in H1 2014, an increase of approximately 160% compared to H1 2013. This growth was achieved by concentrating on multiple European markets, with a particular focus on the Eastern European market. In addition, in October 2014 OptionFair started to offer TechFinancials' new simplified FOREX trading platform in beta mode to a number of its customers.
The Group plans to use some of the proceeds from the Placing for OptionFair to enter new regulated markets which the Directors believe have significant growth potential, such as the US and Japan.