1. MIFID II
1.1 Central Bank publishes Guidance on the authorisation of MiFID firms
On 1 May 2024, the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) published guidance documentation in relation to the authorisation process for a MiFID II investment firm in Ireland under the European Union (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017 (MiFID Regulations).
The guidance comprises:
- Authorisation guidance note on completing an application form for authorisation as a MiFID investment firm (see here);
- Authorisation guidance note for MiFID investment firms - preliminary meeting pre-application presentation (see here); and
- Authorisation guidance note for MiFID Investment Firms - key facts document (see here).
1.2 European Commission publishes Notice on transitional provision under MiFIR Amending Regulation
the Official Journal of the EU (OJ).
In the Notice, the European Commission states that certain provisions in MiFIR provisions introduced by the MiFIR Amending Regulation must be supplemented by new or amended Commission delegated regulations to become fully operational and cannot be supplemented adequately by existing Commission delegated regulations. The Notice clarifies, in those cases, the existing delegated regulations continue to apply together with the MiFIR provisions that they supplement, as applicable before 28 March 2024.
The Notice contains further clarity in relation to Article 54(3) of MiFIR in relation to the following :
- The volume cap mechanism (Article 5 MiFIR);
- Deferred publication of the details of transactions in respect of bonds, structured finance products or emission allowances and deferred publication of the details of transactions in respect of derivatives (Articles 11 and 11a MiFIR);
- Obligation to make pre-trade and post-trade data available on a reasonable commercial basis (Article 13 MiFIR);
- Quotation rules for SIs in equity instruments (Article 14 MiFIR); and
- Obligation to report transactions (Article 26 MiFIR).
A copy of the Notice is available here.
1.3 ESMA consults on draft technical standards relating to non-equity trade transparency, reasonable commercial basis and reference data under MiFIR
On 21 May 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper on proposed amendments to certain regulatory technical standards (RTS) on non-equity trade transparency, the availability of information on a reasonable commercial basis (RCB) and reference data under the recent MiFIR Amending Regulation.
The technical standards relate to:
- Pre- and post-trade transparency requirements for non-equity instruments (bonds, structured finance products and emissions and allowances). These reflect revised mandates in Articles 9(5), 11(4), 11(5) and 21(5) of the recent MiFIR Amending Regulation;
- The obligation to make pre-and post-trade data available on a RCB which seeks to ensure that market data is available to data users in an accessible, fair, and non-discriminatory manner. This reflects the mandate under Article 13 of the MiFIR Amending Regulation; and
- The requirements relating to the supply of reference data that is fit for both transaction reporting and transparency purposes under Article 27 of the MiFIR Amending Regulation.
Please see a copy of our earlier DE briefing paper on the MiFID II amending Directive and the MiFIR Amending Regulation for further details which is available here.
Comments can be made on the consultation paper until 23 August 2024. ESMA intends to publish a final report and submit the draft technical standards to the European Commission by the end of Q4 2024.
A copy of the consultation paper can be found here.
1.4 ESMA consults on draft technical standards relating to commodity derivatives technical standards under MiFID II
On 23 May 2024, ESMA published a consultation paper on proposed amendments to certain technical standards for commodity derivatives under the Directive amending the MiFID II Directive3 (the MIFID Amending Directive)4.
The MiFID II Amending Directive introduces changes to some of the MiFID II Directive provisions regarding commodity derivatives. In particular, the revised Article 57 of the MiFID II Directive extends position management controls to trading venues that trade derivatives on emission allowances and the revised Article 58 of the MiFID II Directive amends the scope of position reporting by excluding emission allowances and introduces a new obligation to report two weekly positions reports, one of which excludes options.
These changes require the revision of:
- The RTS and implementing technical standards (ITS) on position management controls5;6 ; and
- Article 83 of MiFID II Delegated Regulation covering organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment Firms7, which concerns position reporting.
Member States will have until 29 September 2025 to transpose the MiFID II Amending Directive.
Comments can be made on the consultation paper until 23 August 2024. Based on the responses and feedback it receives, ESMA will then submit a final report to the Commission.
A copy of the ESMA consultation paper can be viewed here.
To view the full article, click here.
Footnotes
1. Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (EU) No. 600/2014 (MiFIR).
2. Regulation (EU) 2024/791 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the MiFIR amending Regulation or MiF
3. Directive (EU) 2014/65
4. Directive (EU) 2024/790
5. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1299
6. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1093
7. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.