MiFID II unbundling: U.S. firms embrace CSAs

By Hugo Bromley February 11, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR The effects of the E.U.’s landmark Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II are continuing to work their way through global financial services, with U.S. firms now embracing the...

Asset managers say market data prices may need competition probe

By Huw Jones February 11, 2020, Reuters Competition authorities may be better equipped than securities regulators to ensure that exchanges charge fair prices for data on stock prices, Europe’s top asset managers and banks said on Tuesday. It marks...

Closing Auctions To Continue To Grow

By Shanny Basar February 10, 2020, Markets Media Volumes in closing auctions in Europe will continue to rise by 3% to 4% each year and reach 50% of all European trading activity within eight years, according to analysis by...

Study: Post-financial crisis fines against financial institutions hit $36B

By Jaclyn Jaeger February 11, 2020, Compliance Week Global fines and penalties against financial institutions hit $36 billion last year, as ramifications from the financial crisis continue to reverberate throughout the financial services industry, according to a new...

Independent Research Providers Will Lose Most Under MiFID

By Shanny Basar February 7, 2020, Markets Media Independent research providers are expected to be the biggest losers from the unbundling of research in Europe under MiFID II according to a new survey. MiFID II went live in the...

City fears paying price for Boris Johnson’s trade stance

By Daniel Thomas and David Crow February 5, 2020, Financial Times A stand-off between the U.K. and the E.U. over fishing rights has triggered alarm in the City of London that Boris Johnson’s approach to trade negotiations with Brussels...

Brexit Gets Worse for Wall Street With E.U. Shaking Up MiFID

By Silla Brush February 5, 2020, Bloomberg Freed from British influence, European authorities are hatching an offensive to weaken the Brexit-addled City of London. Officials in Berlin, Brussels and Paris are looking to amend the post-crisis financial rulebook known...

“No meaningful use” for MiFID best ex reports

By Hugo Bromley February 4, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR While MiFID II’s best execution reports have produced no there is no “meaningful use” for investors, expecting regulators to adjust the rules would be wishful thinking, according to market...

European watchdog eyes major changes to dark trading rules under MiFID II

By Hayley McDowell February 4, 2020, The Trade E.U. financial authorities are contemplating massive changes to rules for dark trading under MiFID II, which could see the removal of the controversial double volume caps (DVCs), as a review of...

Fall in authorization applications to Central Bank after Brexit planning peak

By Joe Brennan February 4, 2020, The Irish Times The Central Bank saw a fall in applications from firms seeking authorization in the second half of last year as many of the companies seeking to move activities to Ireland...

E.U. Equity Market Structure in 2020: 10 Topics to Watch

By Tim Cave, TABB Group Originally published on the TABB Forum It looks set to be another eventful year in European equity market structure, with Brexit discussions ongoing and the market data battle heating up. TABB analyst Tim Cave...

Worth the cost? E.U. rethinks MiFID disclosure rules

By Samuel Wilkes January 29, 2020, Risk If at first you don’t succeed, give up or provide an option to give up. This might just be the European Commission’s take on a financial markets rule on cost disclosures that...

MiFID II: market demands position limits revision

By Alice Tchernookova January 30, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR Trading platforms and industry associations have called for a review of position limits to commodity derivatives trading under MiFID II on the grounds that this would restore liquidity to...

MiFID II’s best ex reports still hindered by divergence

By Hugo Bromley January 27, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR MiFID II’s best execution reports are being underutilized and firms do not understand how to comply with a recent update to the regulations, several sources have told Practice Insight....

France’s financial watchdog looks to revive declining research market under MiFID II

By Hayley McDowell January 28, 2020, The Trade The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has published a new damning report on the impact of MiFID II’s rules on the unbundling of research in Paris, and has provided recommendations on...

The Big Reveal: Three Takeaways from ESMA’s Future Plans

By Adrian Whelan, Brown Brothers Harriman Originally published at the On the Regs blog We are still at that time of the year where people make and break resolutions for the immediate future. Regulators are no different. On January...

Exchanges lose ground as MiFID II fails to move trades from dark to light

By Samuel Agini January 27, 2020, Financial News Europe’s grand plan for stock trading is not working. The revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as MiFID II, was meant to improve transparency by shifting more equities trading...

PE seeks new exit as MiFID grinds public markets

By Owen Sanderson January 23, 2020, GlobalCapital Private equity firms are looking at different ways of monetizing their investments, rather than the usual IPO routes, as regulation makes smaller firms less viable in the public markets. Alternative capital providers...

MiFID II Trading Obligations and SI Regime Need Reform

By Shanny Basar January 23, 2020, Markets Media It is most urgent for the European Commission to review the regulations relating to the trading obligations for shares and derivatives and parts of the systematic internalizer regime according to...

Wall Street Caves on MiFID, Allows Separate Payment for Research

By Benjamin Bain January 24, 2020, Bloomberg Banks are increasingly embracing a change that could trigger upheaval for Wall Street’s vaunted stock analysts: They’ve started allowing U.S. clients to buy research without paying a steep tab for trading services....

Banks no longer working on Brexit planning

By Alice Tchernookova January 23, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR Ahead of January 31, the date on which the U.K. will exit the E.U., Brexit project managers at U.K. and E.U. banks have told Practice Insight that much of...

MiFID II in 2019: 5 Key Volume Trends

By Tim Cave, TABB Group Originally published on the TABB Forum European equity trading last year was marred by anemic volumes, but several trends emerged under MiFID II. TABB Group analyst Tim Cave highlights five volume trends that defined...

Trade associations outline key priorities for MiFID II review

By Hayley McDowell January 20, 2020, The Trade Several large trade associations across Europe have called on policy makers to amend certain aspects of MiFID II ahead of a review, including reporting on best execution, the systematic internalizer (SI)...

E.U. Commission’s MiFID II review delay caused by survey issues

By Hugo Bromley January 16, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR A major review of MiFID II that was initially due in September 2019 but has still not been published was allegedly delayed after issues with the initial industry...

E.U. financial regulation in 2020: what to expect (Part III)

By Alice Tchernookova January 16, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR Below is the third part of our (non-exhaustive) list of key regulatory changes that market participants should expect this year. Consolidated tape The debate on whether a consolidated tape...

Trading venues decry disruptors as MTF battle heats up

By Ben St. Clair January 14, 2020, Risk Imagine, for a moment, a trading tool that allows buy-side users to send quote requests to multiple dealers in one click. The tool collects responses and then displays the quotes on...

Less Research? No Problem, Hedge Funds Say.

By Julie Steinberg and Paul J. Davies January 13, 2020, The Wall Street Journal Hedge funds are cashing in on an unintended consequence of European financial regulations on investment research: Less information about some stocks. Put in place two...

E.U. financial regulation in 2020: what to expect

By Alice Tchernookova January 10, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR In its 2020 annual work program, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) defined the enhancement of investor protection and the promotion of stable and orderly financial markets as...

Some risks subsiding but investors overall still wary of new year

By Paulina Pielchata January 13, 2020, Pensions&Investments Money managers and asset allocators in Europe will not be immune to lingering risks in 2020 even if the Continent can avoid a recession, sources said. European institutional investors may begin to...

ISDA Wants Regulators to use its Model to Draft Rules

By Josephine Gallagher January 9, 2020, WatersTechnology The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is pushing its Common Domain Model (CDM) for regulators to adopt when amending or drafting future regulations. “We want to do this as an open...