The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Q&A document on the application of MiFID II / MiFIR clarifying when the European Supervisory Authority will publish the first set of data needed to implement the Systematic Internaliser (SI) regime and the date by which firms must comply with the SI regime for the first time.

ESMA notes the following:

• 1 August 2018: ESMA will publish information on the total number and the volume of transactions executed in the EU for the first time by 1 August 2018, covering the period from 3 January 2018 to 30 June 2018;
• 1 September 2018: investment firms must undertake their first assessment by and, where appropriate, comply with the SI obligations (including notifying their Member State national competent authority) by 1 September 2018; and
• Quarterly updates: for subsequent assessments, ESMA will publish data by the first calendar day of February, May, August and November. Investment firms are expected to perform the calculations and comply with the SI regime by the fifteenth calendar day of February, May, August and November.

ESMA also states:

• the earliest mandatory deadline on which firms must comply with the SI regime, when necessary, is 1 September 2018 although MiFID II and MiFIR apply from 3 January 2018; and
• investment firms can opt-in to the SI regime for all financial instruments from 3 January 2018 as a means of complying, for example, with the trading obligation for shares.

View ESMA prepares for MiFID II Systematic Internaliser Regime, 4 November 2016