Brokerage access in Greece — Greek and international

You can invest through a Greek bank’s brokerage arm (strong on Athens-listed shares) or through an international broker — Interactive Brokers, XTB, Trade Republic, DEGIRO and others — which reach Greek investors via the EU “passport”. The catch with passported brokers: they’re supervised by their home country, and your investor compensation is that country’s scheme, not Greece’s.

Greek bank-affiliated brokers

the major banks run brokerage arms (Eurobank Equities, Alpha Finance, Piraeus Securities, NBG Securities), strong on Athens Stock Exchange access and integrated with your banking. All brokers operating in Greece must be licensed by the HCMC.

International brokers (via the EU passport)

under EU rules (MiFID), an EU-based broker can serve Greek investors without a Greek office, after notifying the HCMC. So Greek residents can use:

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) — very wide market access, low fees, pays interest on idle cash.
XTB — 0% commission on stocks/ETFs up to a volume cap; note that clients under XTB’s Cyprus entity can’t trade real stocks/ETFs.
Trade Republic — commission-free ETFs and savings plans; holds a banking licence.
DEGIRO, Saxo, Trading 212, and others — availability varies; check current Greek access.

The home-country rule (important)

a passported broker is supervised by its home regulator, not directly by Greece, and your investor-compensation cover is the home country’s scheme — for example, an Irish entity falls under the Irish scheme, a German one under the German scheme — not Greece’s €30,000 cover. Know which scheme protects you, and for how much (see investor compensation and how to verify a provider).

Foreigner lens

any broker needs your AFM plus KYC; international brokers also run their own checks (proof of address, tax residency/TIN). A foreigner who is a Greek tax resident declares worldwide investment income to AADE regardless of where the broker sits — see tax residency and investing.

How not to get cheated

before funding any broker, confirm it’s licensed (HCMC, or the EU registers for a passported firm) and check which investor-compensation scheme covers you. Don’t assume a familiar app carries Greek protection — and treat “guaranteed returns” or pressure to deposit fast as the red flags they are.

Athens Stock Exchange · investor compensation · verify a provider · investment tax

This is general information, not investment advice. Broker availability and entity terms change — confirm current Greek access and your covering scheme with the broker. WTP Finance is informational only.

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