EU Waves Through Capital Rules To Help Virus-Hit Economy

By Najiyya Budaly October 21, 2020, Law360 Member state governments agreed to measures Wednesday to amend the European Union’s capital markets rules in a bid to restart the economy after the fallout from the coronavirus crisis by helping the...

UK and EU regulators diverging on double volume caps

By Luke Clancy October 22, 2020, Risk UK and European Union regulators have set out contrasting approaches on EU rules that limit equities trading on unlit venues, indicating potential divergence between the two jurisdictions post-Brexit. Speaking at the TradeTech...

EU defers legal fix to Brexit swaps trading ban on branches

By Samuel Wilkes October 21, 2020, Risk The Council of the European Union has ruled out amending key financial market rules to allow UK branches of EU firms to trade certain over-the-counter derivatives on UK venues at this...

Blast from the Past: Europe launches review of giant Mifid II trading rulebook

By Samuel Agini and Fareed Sahloul February 17, 2020, Financial News The European Commission has kicked off a review of its giant rulebook for trading financial products, with a number of its key principles having struggled to take hold over the past two years....

Best execution U-Turn in Europe: What does the industry think?

By Andrew Saks October 15, 2020, Finance Feeds Good news or bad news? Could it be that the bungling European regulators are so disorganized that they would waste an absolute fortune in designing and implementing an incredibly bureaucratic...

Research reveals £100k difference in platform Sipp costs

By Imogen Tew October 14, 2020, FT Adviser Investors could pay nearly £100,000 more in pension costs while saving for retirement depending on their choice of platform, according to new research. The data showed a starting pot of £100,000...

Brexit Stand Off: Post Brexit Impacts Still Not Fully Formed

By Adrian Whelan, Brown Brothers Harriman Originally published at the On the Regs blog Brexit is certainly rising in minds of asset managers, regulators, and investors as we reach the impending conclusion of the transition period on 11.00 p.m....

Brexit: firms brace for immediate enforcement

By Hugo Bromley October 13, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR The financial services industry is unprepared for many of the consequences of Brexit – and no one knows how forgiving regulators will be.At the start of September, the UK...

Rethink of Mifid, MAR extraterritorial impact ‘on the table’

By Samuel Wilkes October 9, 2020, Risk Problems associated with the extraterritorial reach of European Union market abuse rules will be tackled in due course, according to a Spanish regulator. Rodrigo Buenaventura, general director of markets at the...

No extension for Mifid II reporting after Brexit – FCA

By Wendy Lisney October 1, 2020, Global Investor Group Mifid II transaction reporting regimes must be in place by the end of the Brexit transition period, and will not be granted an extension under temporary transitional power (TTP), according...

Covid-19 struck consolidated tape regains attention as market seeks clarity

By Alice Tchernookova September 30, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR Originally planned as part of Mifid II, the emergence of an EU consolidated tape provider (CTP) has been long in the making. While numerous market consultations had eventually led...

A little help from our friends: banks team up as FX trading gets tougher

By Tommy Wilkes September 23, 2020, Reuters Faced with the costs of competing in a world of electronic and algorithmic trading, many banks are outsourcing parts of their foreign exchange businesses, a trend that may cement big lenders’ dominance...

Europe’s clampdown on fund outsourcing chills market

By Samuel Wilkes October 8, 2020, Risk The fund management business in the European Union is a $20 trillion industry. Experts fear, though, that proposed rules for fund outsourcing could cause this figure to shrink. The European Securities and Markets Authority...

FCA extends pause on Mifid 10% rule

By Rachel Mortimer October 1, 2020, FT Adviser The City watchdog has extended its flexible approach to the 10 per cent drop rule for retail investors in preparation for further potential market volatility.  In an update yesterday (September...

7,500 UK finance jobs shifted to EU since historic vote, as hard Brexit edges closer

By Michiel Willems October 1, 2020, City A.M. More than 7,500 UK finance jobs have headed for Europe since the 2016 EU referendum, with more relocations expected as City firms edge against a hard Brexit. In September alone,...

Escape from Emir? Not so fast, swaps users

By Samuel Wilkes October 5, 2020, Risk Houdini would be spinning in his many-padlocked tomb. European corporate treasurers should have had an easy escape from derivatives reporting rules this year, when legislators appeared to hand them the keys. But...

EU and UK grappling for clearing continues

By Hugo Bromley September 29, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR The EU’s latest extension granting access to UK central clearing counterparties (CCPs) is highly unlikely to create a cut-off point when it expires in 18 months, whether it is...

Rent-a-fund managers rebuff ‘misguided’ Esma criticism

By Samuel Wilkes September 29, 2020, Risk European companies that overseas portfolio managers can hire to set up and manage funds in Europe have hit out at accusations from the pan-European securities watchdog that the business suffers from a...

EU Securities Watchdog Reviews Centralized Trading Rules

By Lucia Osborne-Crowley September 25, 2020, Law360 Europe’s securities watchdog said Friday it is reviewing its post-global financial crisis rules that force trading in derivatives and bonds to be moved onto centralized and regulated platforms. The European Securities and...

MiFID Research Rules Weighed for More Softening in Brussels

By Silla Brush and Alexander Weber September 25, 2020, Bloomberg Law The European Union was already backing away from part of MiFID II. Now, a loosening of the securities law’s ban on free research could be widened to larger companies. To...

‘ESG as it is today won’t exist in 10 years – it will be the norm’

By Amanda Newman Smith September 25, 2020, Money Marketing Wealth management and employee benefits firm Premier puts environmental, social and governance at the heart of its services because it believes this form of investing will become the norm for...

Hedge funds eye Brexit escape from Mifid reporting

By Samuel Wilkes September 21, 2020, Risk London and Brussels are barely 200 miles apart but the gap seems to be growing by the month. A recent proposal on trade reporting from the European Union’s markets watchdog threatens...

Fixing the plumbing: Trading venues prepare for post-Brexit transaction reporting issues

By Hugo Bromley September 23, 2020, Practice Insight from IFLR Following Brexit, third-party transaction reporting under Mifid II will be a particular challenge for derivatives and fixed income, though larger exchanges are already well placed to cope, according...

August trading volumes in Europe plummet in quietest month of MiFID II era

By Hayley McDowell September 15, 2020, The Trade Last month was the quietest period for equities trading volumes in Europe since MiFID II was introduced in January 2018, statistics from data and analytics provider big xyt have revealed....

MiFID Research Rollback May Hurt Investment, EU Fund Lobby Says

By Silla Brush September 17, 2020, Bloomberg Law Europe’s move to ease restrictions on investment research may backfire and discourage investment in smaller companies, the region’s biggest money managers said. The European Fund and Asset Management Association, whose members help...

Is the FCA set for an advice suitability crackdown?

By Cristian Angeloni September 17, 2020, International Adviser The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made it very clear that one of its main focuses is to create fairer outcomes for clients.  In its call for input (CFI) earlier this week, the regulator sought...

Big Four accounting firms reveal ESG reporting standards

By Sophie King September 22, 2020, Professsional Adviser In an article in the Financial Times published today (22 September), the Big Four – which include pwc, KPMG, EY and Deloitte – have all backed the framework, which has been headed...

Only 5% of large financial groups strategically back EU green finance plan

By Margaryta Kirakosian September 22, 2020, CityWire Selector The vast majority of the world’s largest financial groups have opposed or pushed back against more stringent measures on sustainable finance. According to a report by non-profit organisation InfluenceMap, only 5% of 63...

How has the coronavirus shifted the balance of the European ETF market?

By Cherry ReynardSeptember 14, 2020, Portfolio AdviserAt the start of this year, Morningstar predicted that the European ETF market could hit €1trn by the end of 2020 and €2trn by 2024. It based this view on the four-fold expansion...

MEPs call for ESNs as part of new CMU drive

By Tyler DaviesSeptember 11, 2020, GlobalCapitalMEPs have asked the European Commission to come up with a legislative proposal for a new class of bank debt, known as ‘European Secured Notes’, as they push the executive to fast track its...