Wikipedia

Degiro

(Redirected from DEGIRO)

Degiro (stylised as DEGIRO) is a Dutch online brokerage platform based in Amsterdam. It began as an institutional broker in 2008 and launched retail brokerage services for private investors in the Netherlands in 2013. Degiro later expanded across Europe and became one of the largest brokers in Europe.

Degiro
FormerlyDegiro B.V.
Company type
Online brokerage platform
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2008
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
Services
OwnerFlatexdegiro SE
ParentFlatexdegiro Bank SE
Websitewww.degiro.com

In December 2019, German online brokerage group Flatex AG agreed to acquire Degiro B.V. for about €250 million. In 2021, Degiro B.V. was legally merged into Flatexdegiro Bank AG, becoming the bank's Dutch branch. Degiro continues to operate as a separate brokerage brand within Flatexdegiro SE.

Degiro has also faced Dutch regulatory actions and client dispute rulings concerning its brokerage practices and internal controls.

History

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Degiro began as an institutional broker in 2008.[1] The company was co-founded by Mark Fransen, Gijs Nagel, Niels Klok, Jasper Anderluh and Stephan Keetman.[2]

In September 2013, Degiro launched its retail brokerage service for private investors in the Netherlands.[1][3] In 2014 and 2015, the broker expanded into other European countries. In 2015, it launched its English-language platform in the United Kingdom.[4]

On 22 September 2014, Euronext announced a partnership with Degiro for the distribution of retail services on Euronext markets.[5] Euronext described the partnership as part of its plan to compete more effectively in the Dutch retail segment.[6]

In December 2019, Flatex AG agreed to acquire Degiro B.V. for about €250 million, in a transaction intended to create one of Europe's largest online brokerages.[7] In May 2021, Degiro B.V. was legally merged into Flatexdegiro Bank AG, with Degiro becoming the bank's Dutch branch.[8]

After the acquisition, Degiro became part of the wider Flatexdegiro group, and later product launches were made within that group rather than by a separate Degiro B.V. In 2021, the group reported 2.06 million customer accounts, revenue of €418 million and 91 million settled transactions.[9] In 2024, Flatexdegiro surpassed 3 million customer accounts and prepared to launch cryptocurrency trading.[10] Subsequent group product launches included cryptocurrency trading and securities lending.[11][12]

Services

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Degiro provides an online platform for retail investors to trade securities on international markets. At its 2015 UK launch, the platform offered trading in UK shares at a lower stated cost than several established UK platforms and gave retail clients access to major international stock markets.[13]

After the 2021 merger, clients' uninvested cash was held with Flatexdegiro Bank and protected under Germany's statutory deposit guarantee scheme, up to the applicable limit.[14]

Corporate structure and regulation

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Flatexdegiro Bank Dutch Branch, trading under the name Degiro, is the Dutch branch of Flatexdegiro Bank SE.[15] Flatexdegiro Bank SE is primarily supervised by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). In the Netherlands, the Dutch branch is registered with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and supervised by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and DNB.[15][16][17]

The Dutch branch has its own branch management, while Flatexdegiro Bank SE's board of directors is responsible for the bank's management and long-term strategy. The bank's supervisory board oversees the board of directors.[15]

Degiro previously operated in the United Kingdom through European passporting and temporary permissions arrangements. The Financial Conduct Authority register lists Degiro B.V.'s status as cancelled since 18 July 2023.[18] Degiro's UK website states that Flatexdegiro Bank SE is an overseas firm not authorised by the FCA and that UK investors are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.[15]

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Governance

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In April 2018, the AFM imposed an order subject to periodic penalty payments on Degiro B.V.. The decision was published in July 2020. The AFM found that Degiro had breached Dutch financial supervision law in areas including governance, compliance, conflicts of interest, fair treatment of clients and segregation of client assets. Degiro made changes, but the AFM found that several shortcomings had not been sufficiently remedied and required it to pay €300,000.[19] The Rotterdam District Court later dismissed Degiro's appeal.[20]

The AFM report also examined internal matching activity and risks involving an anonymised counterparty. Dutch financial press identified the counterparty as HiQ Market Neutral and described it as an entity connected to Degiro's founders and management.[21][22] The AFM found that Degiro had treated the counterparty differently from retail clients in its risk framework and that the structure could have affected client assets in stress scenarios.[21][22]

Order execution

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In July 2023, the Appeals Committee of Kifid [nl] ruled that Degiro had not executed a consumer's orders as agreed and had provided incorrect information about the method of execution. The case concerned the use of Morgan Stanley's smart order router instead of direct-to-market execution on Euronext.[23]

Kifid found that from February 2020 the consumer's orders were no longer executed directly on Euronext and that Degiro had not informed the consumer correctly and in time about the change. The Appeals Committee concluded that Degiro had misled the consumer about the actual course of events and ordered Degiro to compensate the consumer for losses, reasonable costs incurred to uncover the facts and the costs of the appeal procedure.[23] The Dutch investors' association VEB subsequently asked Degiro for further information on whether other investors had been affected.[24]

Payment for order flow

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In 2021, Degiro's planned order-routing arrangement with Tradegate [de], a German trading venue, drew attention in the Netherlands because payment for order flow was not permitted under Dutch supervision but was legal in Germany at the time.[25] The arrangement was also raised in a written question in the European Parliament, which described concerns over payment for order flow, best execution and an uneven playing field between member states.[26]

Degiro stated that Tradegate allowed clients to trade outside regular exchange hours and that clients retained control over whether they sent orders to Tradegate.[27] In 2024, the revised MiFIR introduced Article 39a, prohibiting investment firms from receiving fees, commissions or non-monetary benefits from third parties for executing or forwarding client orders to a particular venue. Member states in which the practice had previously been used could apply a temporary exemption until 30 June 2026.[28]

Transaction reporting and anti-money laundering controls

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In June 2022, the AFM disclosed that it had imposed a €2 million fine on Flatexdegiro Bank AG because Degiro had reported unusual transactions to the Dutch Financial Intelligence Unit too late or with incorrect transaction dates. The case concerned 36 reports made between mid-2019 and mid-2020, including 27 late reports and, after objection, three reports with an incorrect transaction date.[29] After objection, court and appeal proceedings, the fine was ultimately set at €797,500 in 2025.[30]

In January 2025, the AFM announced a separate fine for a transaction-reporting breach committed by Degiro in 2019. According to the AFM, Degiro had used an incorrect format for five weeks, which prevented the regulator from including more than two million transactions in its market-abuse supervision. The initial fine of €700,000 was reduced by the Rotterdam District Court to €85,000.[31]

Stability of IT infrastructure

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In December 2021, Tweakers, citing Het Financieele Dagblad, reported that DNB had imposed an additional capital requirement of more than €3 million on Degiro because of risks related to its IT platform.[32]

Dividend withholding tax refund disputes

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Degiro has been involved in Kifid disputes over whether it had to help clients reclaim foreign dividend withholding tax. In several French tax cases, Kifid ruled that Degiro had to assist when the requested administrative work was not excessive.[33][34] In a Swedish tax case, Kifid ruled for Degiro because the refund procedure required information from third parties and was not a simple administrative task.[35]

Sponsorship

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In 2022, Degiro became an official partner of Sevilla FC.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "10-year anniversary of DEGIRO". Euronext. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Molenaar, Jeroen (23 March 2021). "Corona katapulteert de mannen van DeGiro de Quote 500 in". Quote (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "DeGiro stunt met brokertarieven". IEX (in Dutch). 23 September 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cheapest-ever broker lets you trade shares for less than £2". The Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Euronext to Partner with DEGIRO on Dutch Retail Investor Services". Euronext. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Euronext Publishes Third Quarter 2014 Results". Reuters. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Henning, Eyk (13 December 2019). "Online Broker Flatex Agrees to Buy Dutch Rival Degiro". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "flatexDEGIRO AG: Successful merger of DeGiro B.V. into flatexDEGIRO Bank AG". EQS News. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Shome, Arnab (1 March 2022). "German Broker flatexDEGIRO Posts 60% Rise in 2021 Revenue". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Chmiel, Damian (13 November 2024). "This Broker Just Hit 3M Customers, Adds Crypto to Compete with Revolut in Europe". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Steves, Rick (30 January 2025). "flatexDEGIRO launches crypto trading powered by Wyden, Tradias, and Tangany". FinanceFeeds. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Shome, Arnab (8 October 2025). "flatexDEGIRO Launches Stock Lending for Its 3 Million Customers". Finance Magnates. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Cheapest-ever broker lets you trade shares for less than £2". The Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "If something happens to DEGIRO, are my investments protected?". Degiro. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Governance". Degiro. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch". De Nederlandsche Bank. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "flatexDEGIRO Bank SE". Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "DEGIRO B.V." Financial Conduct Authority. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "AFM legt DeGiro last onder dwangsom op" (in Dutch). Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Actuele stand van zaken - Last onder dwangsom DeGiro" (PDF) (in Dutch). Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Onderzoeksrapport bedrijfsvoering DeGiro" (PDF) (in Dutch). Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  22. 1 2 Pols, Martijn; Rotteveel, Mathijs (27 July 2020). "Toezichthouder: klanten DeGiro liepen te veel risico". Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  23. 1 2 "Kifid: uitvoering orders beleggingsrekening en informatie schieten tekort" (in Dutch). Kifid. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "VEB stelt DeGiro vragen over mogelijke misleiding beleggers" (in Dutch). Vereniging van Effectenbezitters. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "'Beleggingsplatform DeGiro verkoopt miljoenen orders klanten door naar Duitsland'". NOS (in Dutch). 28 June 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Payment for order flow practices". European Parliament. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Tradegate". Degiro (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  28. ↑ "Article 39a Prohibition of receiving payment for order flow". European Securities and Markets Authority. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Boete FlatexDeGiro voor te late en onjuiste meldingen van ongebruikelijke transacties" (in Dutch). Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  30. ↑ "Actuele stand van zaken - boete aan FlatexDEGIRO Bank AG" (PDF) (in Dutch). Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  31. ↑ "Boete flatexDEGIRO Bank AG wegens overtreden transactierapportageverplichting" (in Dutch). Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  32. ↑ "DNB grijpt in bij beleggingsplatform DeGiro vanwege langdurige IT-problemen". Tweakers (in Dutch). 15 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  33. ↑ "Uitspraak Geschillencommissie Financiële Dienstverlening nr. 2020-235" (PDF) (in Dutch). Kifid. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  34. ↑ "Uitspraak Geschillencommissie Financiële Dienstverlening nr. 2021-0415" (PDF) (in Dutch). Kifid. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  35. ↑ "Uitspraak Geschillencommissie Financiële Dienstverlening nr. 2021-0160" (PDF) (in Dutch). Kifid. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  36. ↑ "DEGIRO to become new main global partner of Sevilla FC". Sevilla FC. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
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