Founded in Neuchatel in 2003, MIG Bank is Switzerland’s largest provider specialising in FX and CFDs online trading services for private and institutional clients. Moreover, it is one of the country’s fastest growing service providers for online currency trading. The company’s impressive expansion owes to many factors and its achievements are many.

Notably, it was the first Swiss-based FX broker to obtain a banking licence in 2009, a development which has seen the Swiss contender rise in rank considerably.

Plenty of additional triumphs have been accomplished since 2009. In order to allow its customers to engage in CFD trading – a form of trading that is steadily gathering force – the company has acquired a Securities Dealer License. “Obtaining the Securities Dealer License is an additional reward and recognition of the work and investments we have achieved at MIG Bank to become one the worldwide leaders in FOREX trading,” says Hisham Mansour, CEO of MIG Bank. “Our next objective is to also become a leader in online trading across all asset classes. For that purpose we are now planning to expand our activities in Switzerland and abroad. The securities dealer license was achieved at the right time as we are now ready to expand our product portfolio,” adds Mansour. “As an increasing number of our clients are looking to diversify their investment portfolios, and as CFDs are becoming increasingly popular with investors, we have decided to address this in our product portfolio,” says Mansour.

Following the obtaining of the license, MIG Bank’s clients can now enter new financial asset classes through a single trading platform and deal in currencies, bullions, major stock indices and commodities. At the beginning of the year, three new CFD additions were made available to traders, namely ASX SPI 200 Index CFD (#AU200), EURO STOXX 50 Index CFD (#EU50) and Brent Crude Oil CFD (#UKOIL). To widen the spectrum further, additional commodities and equities are set to be launched in the near future.

Transparency and corporate philosophy
The issue of transparency is noticeably high on the agenda at MIG Bank. ‘Integrity comes first of all’ is the company’s mantra, and looking closely at the business model, it is not difficult to see why. The bank constantly strives to gain and maintain its valued clients’ confidence. And the best way to do so, the executive team behind MIG Bank believes, is to display full transparency and adhering to its core value that is rooted in its integrity-based mantra. Indeed, MIG Bank became the first online FX trading provider to introduce a unique new dealing model that is fully transparent and has therefore been celebrated as something of a revolutionary innovation.

In addition, the bank offers worthy multi-feed liquidity, automated trading with no dealing desk execution and price improvement, as well as advanced research and expert advisor (EA) programming services. To accommodate its international clientele, the bank also serves up in-depth support in more than 20 languages. “Because our success is linked to the success of our clients, we place our clients at the heart of everything we do,” explains Mansour. “Whether the client is a trader or a business finder, an asset manager or a White Label customer, we consider them all to be strategic business partners. Our strong know-how and attention to detail means we can offer revenue-building opportunities for any client’s business through a partnership with us,” he adds.

In line with MIG Bank’s corporate values, the company appreciates the importance of integrity and commitment to the client, MIG Management and Team believe that success comes from having a long-term vision, particularly so when seeking to establish long-term relationships. “It is our aim to surpass our clients’ expectations by providing secure, reliable and competitive online trading services- our clients’ trust in us is fundamental,” asserts Mansour.

A growing team
As a result of various accomplishments and the overall strength of MIG Bank, its development has accelerated greatly, while it has also enjoyed success across all its business divisions. In line with the bank’s confident expansion, its workforce has doubled between the years of 2007 and 2010; with a currently more than 150 employees, and the number is increasingly steadily.

Company growth has by no means come to a standstill. In 2011, MIG was granted a broker dealer licence by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The licence will necessitate yet further recruitment of staff. “To support our growth and continue expanding our business into securities trading, we will need to hire between 30 and 40 additional employees within the next 8-12 months,” says Mansour.

The steady development of MIG Bank and the expansion of its workforce have seen the company outgrow its former headquarters that were located in the Canton. Since the search for a large enough office in its original hub was fruitless, the company recently secured a conveniently spacious site in Lausanne, the capital of the Canton de Vaud. The premises are roomy enough to house 200 members of staff – an employee number that will be reached before long. “We are embarking on a new chapter in the history of MIG Bank. We must keep pace with our development. Our new and larger premises in Lausanne should facilitate the hire of new employees with the specific professional expertise we need in order to develop our banking and financial services business over the coming year,” explains Mansour.

Other real estate-related news includes the opening of an office in Zurich. The introduction of the new site in one of Europe’s leading financial centres marks the first step in a planned geographical expansion across different territories in Europe and other destinations worldwide.

Formula 1 – a well matched partner
There is no doubt that business comes before pleasure at MIG Bank – without hard work, the bank would not enjoy the strong position it does today. But MIG Bank is not all about respectable business conducts and eminent trading facilities. It is also a visible figure within the field of sports. Having enjoyed a three-year partnership Formula 1, MIG Bank has decided to renew its support of the Mercedes AMG Petronas’s ‘dream team,’ which brings together world champions Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher as well as one of the most renowned F1 drivers in the world, Nico Rosberg. As part of the deal, MIG Bank branding will feature on the F1 W03 race car, while it will also adorn team race suits, crew overalls as well as any additional team clothing.

MIG bank’s involvement with Formula 1 seems particularly fitting, since the two parties seem to advance forward at similar speed and confidence.