OANDA Corporation, a long-established forex dealer based in New York, has been fined $600,000 by the National Futures Association (NFA) for a series of alleged compliance violations related to capital mismanagement, weak supervision, and customer protection failures.

The enforcement action follows a formal complaint issued by the NFA’s Business Conduct Committee (BCC), which found that OANDA failed to meet core regulatory obligations-raising concerns just months after news of its proposed acquisition by leading prop trading firm FTMO.

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What Happened

According to the NFA, OANDA violated multiple financial and supervisory requirements, including:

• Failing to increase its net capital by 10% of liabilities owed to eligible contract participants
  
  
• Improperly offsetting forex exposure on transactions with an affiliated entity
  
  
• Not collecting required security deposits from that affiliate
  
  
• Falling below minimum net capital requirements as a result
  
  

In addition, the firm failed to collect appropriate deposits from retail clients on certain trades, presented misleading promotional materials, and published pricing errors that negatively impacted customer experience.

While OANDA neither admitted nor denied the charges, it agreed to settle the case and pay the $600,000 fine. The firm has also been instructed to compensate affected customers, though details of restitution have not been disclosed.

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Why It Matters for the Prop Industry

OANDA is widely used by retail and institutional traders—and its connection to the prop world is under growing scrutiny following news in February that FTMO is set to acquire its parent company, OANDA Global Corporation.

While the acquisition is still pending and FTMO currently holds no ownership or operational control, this development raises questions around due diligence, regulatory exposure, and reputational risk for prop firms entering the brokerage space.

The case also reinforces a broader trend: regulators are intensifying oversight over capital standards, affiliate dealings, and customer protection-areas that prop firms themselves are increasingly being held accountable for, especially when operating through offshore or gray-zone entities.

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Looking Ahead

The NFA’s move sends a strong message to brokers and prop trading partners alike: compliance lapses-especially those involving capital and customer transparency-will face serious penalties.

As the FTMO-OANDA deal hangs in the balance, the industry will be watching closely to see how this enforcement action impacts its progress.

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Follow PropInsider for more updates on the FTMO-OANDA deal and evolving regulatory pressure in the trading world.

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