While the appropriate amount of leverage can be debated, the more important point is that traders are going to trade with the broker where they can have the amount of leverage they want. Even if you believe someone should not use more than 10 times leverage, the proposal does not stop someone from trading with an overseas broker. Money moves freely and traders will vote with a click of the mouse. Traders will make the decision whether to tie up 10 times more capital in their forex account or simply move it overseas to continue trading as they have been.
The unintended consequence of this proposal is that traders will be forced to trade overseas with non-US brokers if they want flexible leverage. Instead of helping to advance protection for forex traders and prevent fraud, the proposal will force many traders out of their jurisdiction. This will do the complete opposite of what is intended.
Here are the points made by the Forex Dealers Coalition.
--Today the U.S. retail forex industry can boast hundreds of thousands of live accounts. Should the 10 to 1 leverage rule be adopted 90% of those accounts can be expected to go offshore. And the first place theyâll go is to the United Kingdom where customers can trade with leverage as high as 200 to 1.
--The U.S. retail forex industry (forex dealers and introducing brokers) employs thousands of people. The vast majority of these jobs are high paying, white collar jobs that require advanced
education and range from software developers to accountants to foreign exchange dealers. The industry is just as much a high tech industry as it is a financial services industry.
--The domestic industryâs revenue is well over $1 billion. This revenue is money generated from a product that is in many ways an export. Furthermore, as capital markets open in the BRIC
countries the number of new accounts that will flow out of places like China and India will lead to huge job and revenue gains in the United States. Trillions of dollars of trade volume are at stake. This is money that could (and should) be booked in the United States as taxable revenue. But if this rule passes the United States could well be costing itself billions of dollars in taxes down the road.
--The problem of Forex fraud will get worse absent legitimate dealers offering retail forex. Retail forex fraud is not something that is caused by the actions of retail forex dealers; rather it is caused by unlicensed con-men who masquerade as forex experts promising silly and unjustifiable returns before disappearing with customer funds. That is why the FXDC fully supports the CFTCâs rule requiring all introducing brokers be licensed. That rule will solve forex fraud, not 10 to 1 leverage.
--The 10 to 1 leverage rule will be highly unpopular with traders. The fact is 100 to leverage is very popular with the retail forex trading public. They simply will not accept 10 to 1 leverage.
--Unregulated dealers from around the world will also be the beneficiaries of the 10 to 1 leverage rule. These unregulated forex dealers donât have to worry about capital requirements, risk
management models, marketing ethics, dealing practices or even returning a customerâs funds. These dealers will be out of the reach of the CFTC and they will thrive.
http://blogs.fxstreet.com/francesc/files/2010/01/competitiveness_summary.pdf