One year on and none the wiser
MiFID has achieved the rare feat of becoming a genericized trademark. In the same way that Xerox stands for copy machines in general, MiFID has turned into a synonym for all financial markets’ regulation. Thinking about its scorecard on its first birthday, whether MiFID II really is ground-breaking,... Read More
Setting a good example
Meanwhile in another part of Europe, time is running out for Swiss equivalence. The one year period previously granted in December 2017 is set to expire on 31st December. Switzerland needs equivalent third-country status in order to preserve the status quo and allow EU trading participants bound by MIFID... Read More
It is about time
Last Friday, ESMA finally published its long anticipated call for evidence on periodic auctions. Periodic auctions became popular in 2017 and even more so through 2018 and so they are often linked to the introduction of MiFID II. While some opponents lambasted them as a cynical attempt to avoid the double... Read More
Beyond the obvious choice
Many trading firms are looking towards multi-entity setups to prepare for Brexit. The larger firms tend to have subsidiaries or branches in place, so they already have a flexible hedge against any Brexit scenario. Unfortunately, this can be an expensive contingency plan. What if a firm can’t justify... Read More
FCA Brexit consultation offers alternative to noisy political debate
You might be excused for thinking that given the remaining Brexit uncertainty, contingency planning is something for policy wonks and lawyers. But this oversimplifies the situation, in particular since the FCA published two consultations on Brexit last week offering an unsentimental and technical analysis.... Read More
Get it done, while you still can
When the double volume cap (DVC) was first enacted on 12th March it cut nearly half of dark turnover in Europe. After a 6-month mandatory break all of the suspended stocks have now been allowed to re-join the general population. Early evidence suggests that overall dark trading has now resumed at roughly... Read More
Time to change your default settings?
London has long been seen as the European capital for financial markets. This has very little to do with regulation – after all, the UK is (still) part of the EU single market. London’s continuing dominance is largely down to ‘network effects’, i.e. the positive benefits of being... Read More
Joining the fray
It was always clear that Brexit was going to be an inherently complex undertaking that the industry must muddle through somehow. By now we’re all quite used to politicians of every stripe selling us their promises and claims, ranging from the more realistic to the less credible. What’s different... Read More
The hard reality of Brexit
Whichever type of Brexit you hope for, there remains the possibility of a UK withdrawal from the EU in March next year with no agreement in place, and no transition period. The European Banking Authority has this week voiced its concerns about what it sees as a lack of preparation on the part of financial... Read More
Become a master of suspense
Starting October 1, 2018, CME Regulatory Advisory RA1720-5 comes into effect. The advisory details the limited use of suspense accounts, which are temporary holding accounts submitted at the time of order entry into Globex, but prior to the allocation of the executions to specific accounts on a carrying... Read More
Brexit fragmentation
MiFID brought market fragmentation to Europe back in 2007. In broad strokes incumbent exchanges lost market share to newcomer MTFs predominantly located in the UK. For UK stocks this meant that the fragmentation occurred within their home country, whereas EU27 stocks moved partly to London. But how... Read More
Bracing for Brexit
There are very few things we can be certain of in regard to Brexit, other than the fact that it won’t be concluded in 2018. It would be premature, though, to dismiss Brexit as topic solely for the policy makers sitting in their ivory tower far removed from the technology and operations that keep financial... Read More
