MiFID II

MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II) is the EU-wide regulatory framework governing investment firms, including forex and CFD brokers, covering client protection, transparency, best execution, and product-governance rules. A license from any EU national regulator (like CySEC) operating under MiFID II lets a firm passport its services to clients across the whole EEA. MiFID II is also the framework ESMA used as the legal basis to impose its 2018 leverage caps and marketing restrictions on retail CFD products across the EU.