Recent indications are that the implementation date for MiFID II (currently scheduled for 3 January 2017) could be delayed for up to 12 months.
ESMA speech
On 10 November 2015, the Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) gave a speech to the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in which he referred to the challenges involved in meeting the current implementation date. He:
- highlighted that it will be "well into 2016" before certain regulatory technical standards (RTS) are finalised and that work cannot begin on certain complex IT projects (projected to take at least 12 months) until those RTS are finalised. This is of particular concern in relation to position reporting;
- highlighted that the 6 months between the transposition deadline of July 2016 and the implementation date of 3 January 2017 is an extremely short period of time when the amount of work involved for ESMA and national competent authorities (NCAs) in assessing pre-trade transparency waivers and proposals for setting position limits is considered; and
- confirmed that ESMA has asked the European Commission to consider whether a transposition delay (with particular emphasis on transparency, transaction and position reporting) would be possible.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.