The FCA has published the minutes of its MiFID II implementation roundtable held on 3 August 2016. Among other things the minutes note:

  • the deadline set for the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to provide draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on package transactions is set for the end of February 2017;
  • on investor protection, significant progress has been made on draft guidelines on product governance and an initial 26 Q&As covering best execution, suitability and appropriateness, taping and independent investment advice. Publication is expected at some point after the summer;
  • on secondary markets, progress has been made on a discussion paper on the derivatives trading obligation and guidelines on trading halts and management bodies or regulated markets. ESMA is also working on Q&As on a wide range of other secondary market topics including, among other things, the definition of a multilateral system, the differences between multilateral and organised trading facilities, tick sizes and organisational requirements for investment firms and trading venues in respect of algorithmic trading;
  • on commodity derivatives, the implementing measures need to be completed before ESMA can make real progress on interpretative issues;
  • on market data, the guidelines published at the end of last year can only be finalised once the RTS have been scrutinised. RTS 22 on transaction reporting had only just been adopted and it is possible that this would be subject to three months scrutiny by the Council of the European Union and the European Commission; and
  • the FCA’s latest consultation paper on MiFID II, Consultation Paper 16/19: Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II implementation (CP16/19), is to be followed by a third consultation paper on conduct of business which could be published at the end of September. The FCA plans to release one policy statement across the various FCA consultations on MiFID II and hopes to publish it a few months in advance of the transposition deadline.

The FCA noted that the next meeting on 6 September would discuss the substance of CP16/19.

View Minutes of the FCA MiFID II implementation roundtable: August 2016, 31 August 2016