Is FBS Safe and Legit? Licences and Withdrawal Tests

Short answer

FBS is a large, long-running broker, but international clients sign with FBS Markets Inc., licensed in Belize, with no compensation scheme. FBS offers negative balance protection and a 20% stop-out. Japan's FSA has warned FBS Markets Inc. for soliciting without registration, and Malaysia's Securities Commission lists FBS Malaysia and FBS Trading Berhad on its Investor Alert List.

Zero-cut: negative balance protection: Balance $1,000, Price gap: $1,300 loss. Without protection: Balance −$300: you owe it. With zero-cut: Reset to $0: the broker covers it. — When a fast market jumps past the stop-out and the balance goes negative, a broker with zero-cut writes off the negative amount instead of asking you to pay it.

Licences

Company	Regulator	Who it serves
FBS Markets Inc.	FSC Belize	International clients
Tradestone Ltd	CySEC	EU clients
Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd	ASIC	Australian clients

A Belize licence allows leverage of up to 3,000:1 but offers no compensation scheme and lighter supervision. See the licence tiers guide and fund protection explained.

Protections FBS offers

Negative balance protection: see zero-cut explained.
Stop-out at 20% of used margin.
Segregated client funds, according to FBS.

Regulatory warnings

Country	Regulator	What it says
Japan	Financial Services Agency	FBS Markets Inc. on the list of warned unregistered firms
Malaysia	Securities Commission Malaysia	FBS Malaysia and FBS Trading Berhad on the Investor Alert List (2021)

FBS’s terms have also listed countries it doesn’t serve; check that your country is accepted before you open an account. Country guides: Malaysia, Thailand, Japan.

How to reduce the risk

Keep your balance modest and withdraw profits regularly: FBS withdrawals.
Deposit only in the official client area: FBS deposits.
Be careful with promotions that tie up your profits: FBS bonus.

What a Belize licence means for you

If you have a dispute, you deal with FBS Markets Inc. under Belize rules. There is no ombudsman in your country and no compensation fund that pays out if the company fails. That doesn’t make FBS unsafe by itself, but it means your main protection is the broker’s own record and how much money you leave on the account.

Overall verdict: FBS review.

Licence register details

Legal entity	Regulator	Licence no.
FBS Markets Inc. serves readers of this edition	FSC (Belize)	000102/460

Is it safe? at other brokers

Frequently asked questions

Is FBS a scam?

No regulator has found FBS to be a scam, and it serves millions of clients. But its international company has only a Belize licence, and regulators in Japan and Malaysia have warned that it isn't authorised there.

Is FBS regulated by CySEC and ASIC?

Group companies are: Tradestone Ltd (CySEC) and Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd (ASIC). Those licences protect only their own clients, not international clients of FBS Markets Inc.

Is FBS legal in Japan?

Japan's FSA has warned FBS Markets Inc. for soliciting over-the-counter derivatives to Japanese residents without registration. Japanese residents have no local protection with it.