The second paragraph of Article 48(5) of MiFID II determines that trading venues shall report the parameters for halting trading and any material changes to those parameters to their national competent authority (NCA) in a consistent and comparable manner, and that the NCA shall in turn report them to ESMA.

The guidelines on the calibration of circuit breakers and publication of trading halts under MiFID II was published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on 6 April 2017 (the Guidelines) (see here). The Guidelines apply to trading venues that allow or enable algorithmic trading on their systems and to NCAs.

In ESMA’s final report to the Guidelines a template and procedure for the submission of the parameters of mechanisms to halt or constrain trading was established. However, it was decided not to include these reporting standards and procedure in the Guidelines but rather have them in an ESMA procedure which would be approved by the ESMA board.

ESMA has now published a document that formalises a common standard and procedure for NCAs to adhere to in reporting the parameters to halt or constrain trading used by the trading venues under their jurisdiction to ESMA, without prejudice to the possibility for NCAs to require those trading venues to report to them the parameters using a different and, where appropriate, more granular format.

The document enters into force after its publication on ESMA’s website, that is 18 July 2017.

View ESMA issues procedure and template for NCAs to report circuit breakers’ parameters