On December 2, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a draft transitional direction alongside an explanatory note, for share trading obligation under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (600/2014) (MiFIR) in preparation for the end of the Brexit transition period (the Direction).
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FCA Publishes Statement on Approach to Share Trading Obligation After Brexit Transition Period
On November 4, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a statement regarding its approach to the UK share trading obligation (STO) after the end of the Brexit transition period.
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ESMA Publishes Statement on Trading Obligation for Shares Under MiFIR After Brexit
On October 26, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on December 31, relating to the requirement for EU investment firms only to trade shares on an EU trading venue, with an EU systemic internalizer or on an equivalent third-country exchange (known as the share trading obligation or STO) under Article 23 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (the Statement).
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ESMA Publishes Reports on the MiFID II/MiFIR Transparency Regime
Posted in EU Developments, Financial Markets
On July 16, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published two reports that review the key provisions of the MiFID II/MiFIR transparency regime (the Reports).
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ESMA Publishes Statement on MiFIR Tick-Size Regime and COVID-19
Posted in EU Developments, Financial Markets
On March 20, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement setting forth its approach to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the tick-size regime for systematic internalizers (SIs) in EU financial markets under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and the Investment Firms Regulation (IFR) (the Statement).
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ESMA Publishes Annual Transparency Calculations
Posted in Financial Markets, UK Developments
On February 28, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the annual transparency calculations for equity and equity-like instruments. This information is published for the purposes of the MiFID II/MiFIR transparency requirements, in particular:
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European Commission Consults on MiFID II and MiFIR Review
On February 17, the European Commission (EC) launched a public consultation on the review of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFIR) regulatory framework (together, the Framework).
The EC’s consultation is divided into three sections. In the first section, the EC aims to gather views and feedback from all stakeholders on the experience of the first two years of the Framework. In particular, the EC asks whether “a targeted review . . . with an ambitious timeline would be appropriate to address the most urgent shortcomings.” The EC asks stakeholders to rank their satisfaction with the Framework, and to indicate whether they believe the Framework has succeeded in its objectives.
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EFSA Comments on MiFID II Recalibration
Posted in EU Developments, Financial Markets
On January 20, the European Forum of Securities Associations (EFSA) published a letter to the European Commission (the Commission) outlining the changes they would like to see to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (together, MiFID 2/R). This is in anticipation of the Commission’s review of MiFID 2/R in July 2020.
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European Parliament and Council of the European Union Reach Agreement on Investment Firms Regulation and Directive
On February 26 and 27, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament issued statements, respectively, announcing that they had reached a political agreement on the proposed Investment Firms Regulation (IFR) and the proposed Investment Firms Directive (IFD).
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ESMA Updates Q&As Relating to Transparency and Market Structures
Posted in EU Developments, Financial Markets
On November 14, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the following updated questions and answers document (Q&As):
- an updated version of the Q&As on transparency topics under the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR). ESMA has added two points to Q&A 7 and
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