The Contracts for Difference – Elements of Financial Innovation on the Romanian Capital Market

The financial derivatives market in Romania is still at an early stage of development. However, the oldest and, in our opinion, the most important market operator, the Sibiu Stock Exchange (Sibex) always tried to include in its portfolio new types of instruments, providing new opportunities for investors for hedging and arbitrage operations. Among the elements of financial innovation that the investors from the Romanian capital market can benefit we can include and Contracts for Difference (CFDs), introduced in 2009 in the Sibex portfolio. This paper aims to analyze CFDs in a theoretical manner and their evolution on the capital market in Romania, trying to identify possible motivations of the poor development of this segment of the market.