Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (IBKR)’s plans to merge its two EU investment firms into a single Irish-licensed entity.

  1. What are IBKR’s plans for its EEA operations?

    In the lead-up to Brexit, IBKR created two strong investment firms in the EEA – Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited or “IBIE” and Interactive Brokers Central Europe Zrt. or “IBCE”, to provide on-line execution and clearing services to its clients.

    While these firms have allowed us to service our EEA clients and significantly expand our business, IBKR has made the strategic decision to integrate those two firms into one entity, regulated in Ireland, while retaining a significant operational services presence in Hungary, in addition to software development services.

  1. Can you explain why you are making this change?

    Merging IBIE and IBCE will allow us to focus on meeting one set of regulatory requirements and provide a consistent product offering throughout the EEA, while continuing to achieve our goals including providing clients with high quality investment services..

  1. When will this change happen?

    IBKR is working towards an end of July date for the Merger, although this is subject to change as it depends on a variety of factors. We will provide further on the timing of the Merger in the coming weeks.

  1. How will the Merger impact investment services provided to IBIE clients?

    IBIE’s clients will not be impacted by the Merger.

  1. How will the Merger impact investment services provided to IBCE clients?

    From the Merger Date, IBCE client accounts will be serviced through IBIE and have access to IBIE’s full offering, including additional currencies, OTC Spot Metals and OTC Futures on LME Metals. Please see below for further information.

  1. Will I be able to continue trading on the basis of my existing contractual arrangements with IBCE after the Merger?

    Yes, but only for a short period. You will need to agree to all relevant IBIE agreements and disclosures if you wish to continue to trade with IBIE on an on-going basis post-merger.

    In the coming weeks, we will provide you with all relevant IBIE agreements and disclosures for you to review and sign, via a login task in the Client Portal. While these agreements and disclosures will not become effective until after the date of the Merger, we encourage you to review and sign them as soon as possible.

  1. Will the Merger cause any changes to my existing contractual arrangements with IBCE?

    Yes, we will need to make some amendments to your existing contractual arrangements with IBCE, to reflect the fact of the Merger and will provide further information regarding these changes in due course.

    The amendments will apply from the date of the Merger, until the IBIE agreements and disclosures take effect.

  1. Can you provide more information about IBIE?

    IBIE is an affiliate of IBCE and both firms are wholly owned subsidiaries within the Interactive Brokers Group.

    Like IBCE, IBIE is authorised and regulated as an investment firm pursuant to the MiFID 2 Directive (Directive 2014/65/EU). IBIE is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

    You can find additional information about IBIE on its website, at https://www.interactivebrokers.ie/en/home.php, including its contact information as well as information about the Central Bank of Ireland.

  1. As an IBCE customer, will my commissions/fees change when my account is transferred?

    No. Commissions and fees will not change when your account transfers to IBIE. You can find further information on the commissions and fees charged by IBIE on the pricing section of IBIE’s website.

  1. Does IBIE offer a Cash Yield Enhancement Program (“CYEP”)?

    As IBIE is permitted to pay interest on the funds held in your account, it does not offer a CYEP.

    The interest rates paid by IBIE may differ from the rates that apply in IBCE’s CYEP. Please visit our websites if you wish to compare the applicable rates.

    Interest received on funds held with IBIE may be subject to Irish Withholding Tax (WHT).

  1. What is Irish Withholding tax and why will I have to pay it?

    Under Irish tax rules, IBIE is generally required to deduct withholding tax on interest paid on funds held in your IBIE account.

    The deduction is at a rate of 20%, unless you live in a country that has a Double Taxation Treaty with Ireland, which may provide for a lower deduction rate. All EEA Member States have a DTT with Ireland.

    For further information on the DTT rates, eligibility requirements and how to apply for these rates, please review our Irish Tax Withholding guide here.

  1. Will I have access to the same trading platform and/or software following the transfer of my account?

    Yes. The transfer of your account will have no impact upon the cost basis of your positions.

  1. Will this consolidation affect the products I can hold or trade and/or the services available to me?

    As an IBIE Client, you will be able to access and trade the same products/services that are now available at IBCE, as well as some additional products/services. Specifically:

    • IBIE clients can trade OTC Spot Metals (Gold and Silver) and OTC Futures on LME Metals.

    • IBIE clients can hold 24 currencies, compared to the 10 currencies offered by IBCE. As you can hold all trading currencies in your IBIE account, there is no auto-FX back to your base currency in IBIE on sell orders in those currencies. Please see the IBIE Customer Agreement for further details on which accounts auto-fx applies.

    • IBIE pays interest on your cash balances so your current IBCE CYEP program will no longer apply.

  1. Will the current cost basis of positions be carried over when my account is transferred?

    Yes. The transfer of your account will not impact the cost basis of your positions.

  2. Will the transferred account retain the same permissions as the current account?

    Following transfer, your IBIE account permissions, including your margin capability, market data, additional users and alerts will generally match those of your IBCE account, unless changes are required for legal/regulatory reasons.

  3. Will my login credentials change?

    No. Your username, password, and any 2-factor authentication process in place for your existing account will remain active following transfer. You will, however, be assigned a new account ID number for your transferred account.

  4. For Hungarian residents, how will this affect my TBSZ account?

    TBSZ accounts should not be affected by this change. After the merger, TBSZ accounts will be serviced through IBIE.

  5. How am I protected against loss? Will there be any material differences between my existing IBCE relationship and my new relationship with IBIE?

    As investment firms, both IBCE and IBIE are required to keep client funds segregated from their own funds so that if either of them becomes insolvent, client funds will not form part of their property for insolvency purposes and will be returned to their clients.

    Information on IBIE’s client asset requirements can be found in the Client Assets Key Information Document (“CAKID”).

    In certain cases, if an investment firm has failed to properly segregate client funds, it may not be possible to return these funds to the client should the firm becomes insolvent. Both Ireland and Hungary have compensation schemes in place to provide certain protections to retail clients if this happens. A key difference between those schemes is that the maximum amount of protection under the Hungarian scheme is €100,000, while the maximum amount under the Irish scheme is €20,000.

    You can find full details of the Irish scheme on https://www.investorcompensation.ie and of the Hungarian scheme on https://bva.hu/en/. Information about the Hungarian scheme is also available on IBCE’s website in the Announcement on the protection of investors.