CFI Financial Group Secures Brazilian Brokerage License

CFI Financial Group has been cleared by Brazil's central bank to operate as a securities brokerage in the country, the company announced on Thursday. The authorization from Banco Central do Brasil allows CFI to act as a Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários, giving local clients access to equities and fixed-income securities.

The approval expands the Dubai-based group's regulatory footprint to 15 licenses worldwide and marks its entry into a market it had previously watched from the sidelines while building positions across the Middle East, Africa and parts of Latin America. CFI reported $2.3 trillion in trading volume for the first quarter of 2026, up 11% from the previous quarter and 81% year over year. Full-year 2025 volume reached $6.4 trillion, with active clients rising 18% annually.

Locally regulated entry

The CTVM authorization places CFI under direct Brazilian prudential oversight rather than allowing it to serve clients cross-border from another jurisdiction. That structure differs from the offshore CFD model used by many international retail brokers in the region.

Ziad Melhem, who became Group CEO last June, said the company sees Brazil as ready for a deeper offering. "Brazil represents an important pillar in our global expansion, and this step reflects our focus on building a strong, licensed, and locally grounded presence," he said in a statement. Melhem, who succeeded co-founders Hisham Mansour and Eduardo Fakhoury when they moved to chairman and vice chairman roles, added that Brazilian clients are "looking for depth, transparency and a platform that can support more sophisticated trading needs."

CFI is entering Brazil at a time when some foreign brokers have found the market challenging. Polish broker XTB obtained Brazilian regulatory approval earlier in 2025 but later disclosed it was evaluating all options, including ceasing operations, citing what it called local protectionist measures. XTB subsequently suspended new account openings for Brazilian residents after ending its partnership with Finvest DTVM Ltda.

Other international players have taken varied routes into Latin America. Binance acquired locally licensed broker-dealer Sim;paul in January 2025 to secure Brazilian authorization, while Airwallex obtained a payment institution license and acquired Mexico's MexPago. Plus500 chose Colombia for its first regional foothold last August, opening a representative office under the Financial Superintendence.

The Brazil license follows CFI's authorization from Colombia's Financial Superintendence in August 2025, which cleared the way for a representative office in Bogotá. Melhem said CFI plans to establish a dedicated Brazilian team with local leadership, client service and partnerships with domestic fintechs and content platforms. The firm also intends to introduce Portuguese-language research and educational material, mirroring its localization strategy in MENA markets.

CFI operates under regulators including the UK's FCA, the UAE's Capital Market Authority, CySEC, the Jordan Securities Commission and the Central Bank of Bahrain. The group added a Bahrain office last October, opened a Baku entity in early 2025 after acquiring AzFinance Investment Company, and named Amr Abdelbaky CEO of its Egyptian unit earlier this month.