ESMA has published its final technical standards (TS) on MiFID II.
This package deals with technical standards from the areas of transparency (Standards 1- 5), market microstructure (Standards 6-12), data publication and access (Standards 13-16), requirements applying on and to trading venues (Standards 17-19), commodity derivatives (Standards 20 and 21), market data reporting (Standards 22-25), post-trading (Standard 26) and investor protection (Standards 27 and 28). It describes the feedback received in the public consultations and the rationale behind ESMA’s final proposals. Annexed to this final report are the draft technical standards themselves (Annex I) and the ESMA cost-benefit-analysis (Annex II). Please note that the RTS on indirect clearing for ETD does not seem to have been published together with the other final RTS.
ESMA chair Steven Maijoor said in an announcement: “The rules put out by ESMA today on MiFID II, MAR and CSDR will notably change the way Europe’s secondary markets function. And this will no doubt impact market participants and regulators alike. The magnitude of this change should not be underestimated. But the past has taught us that change is needed in order to make markets more transparent, efficient, and safer to invest in. This will entail a certain cost but we should not forget the other side of this equation, which is the great benefits safer and sounder markets will bring to everybody.”
Next steps
ESMA’s different sets of final draft TS have been sent for endorsement to the European Commission. The Commission now has three months to approve these. Once endorsed, both the European Parliament and the Council have an objection period.
MiFID II will enter into force in 2017 respectively.
