ESMA Report Clarifies MiFID II/MiFIR Technical Standards

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA ) has published its Final Report covering the draft Technical Standards on authorisation, passporting, registration of third country firms and cooperation between competent authorities.

The report stems from extensive public consultation regarding the EU’s financial legislation, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II /MiFIR), which provides a Directive and Regulatory statement. It is aimed at ensuring a high degree of consumer protection across a harmonised European financial market.

In terms of ESMA’s role, the EU financial regulator has been tasked with proposing regulatory technical standards (RTS) and implementing technical standards (ITS). While the draft RTS and ITS have been submitted to the European Commission, ESMA has been undertaking an extensive public consultation process, which closed in March.

The report therefore elaborates and provides analysis on the feedback from the consultation paper, describes material changes to the technical standards and explains the rationale for any such amendments.

It contains the majority of the draft RTS and ITS on investor protection topics which ESMA is expected to develop, as well as a cost-benefit analysis.

Broadly, the legislation builds on its predecessor, MiFID, which sought greater investor protection, introduced competition to the EU trading landscape and provided a ‘passport’ for trading venues and investment firms to operate throughout Europe on the basis of authorisation in their home Member State.

The technical standards seek to tighten up and harmonise standards and requirements for authorisation, registration and reporting from firms and cooperation between supervisory authorities.

The remaining draft technical standards ESMA is mandated to develop under MiFID II and MiFIR will be published by the end of 2015.