Mifid II will definitely come into force next January as EU commissioner rules out further deadline extensions
The EU’s financial services chief has today ruled out any further delay to an apprehensively awaited array of securities market reforms.
The new Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II), due to come into force in January, has already been postponed for 12 months and the European Commission had left open the possibility that this could be extended.
But commissioner Valdis Dombrovkis said today at a regulatory conference in Paris that the January implementation date was set.
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“The deadline for Mifid II was already extended once, so we do not plan further extension of the deadline,” said Dombrovskis.
The reforms, which are designed to increase transparency, have alarmed market players from brokers to asset managers due to their complexity and potentially far-reaching consequences.
But some were surprised that the EU had even left open the possibility of further deadline extensions, since member states have had such a lengthy period of warning.
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“The noises from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are that they will be understanding of this big change,” said Scott Fulton of corporate brokerage Capital Access Group.
“It seems people will be allowed to work their way into it as long as they’re not deliberately trying to break the rules.”
At the same conference, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Steven Maijoor announced that ESMA and the European Banking Authority would conduct a cost and performance review of mutual funds.
This follows the FCA’s asset management review earlier this year, which initiated a shake-up in the UK of managers’ fees and performance.
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