Lost amid all the hot air about Brexit are the many global securities operations that will be disrupted when the U.K. leaves the E.U. One of the more contentious issues for global firms will be how to sort out their interactions with central counterparty clearinghouses (CCPs) based in the U.K. and Europe especially if there… Read More >>
E.U. Derivatives Reporting Will Get Funky After Brexit
The U.K. and E.U. negotiations over Brexit appear to be at a critical moment as the negotiators for both sides have just presented a preliminary agreement. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will unveil the deal to her cabinet and England this week. However, the initial pushback to the agreement has ranged from negative to skeptical,… Read More >>
ESMA Sets Final Deadline for LEI Applications
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will not be extending its deadline for the Legal Identity Identifier (LEI) application process, and financial services firms will have to apply for their LEIs by July 2, officials say. “The temporary period allowing for a smooth introduction of the use of Legal Identity Identifiers (LEIs), originally brought-in… Read More >>
ESMA Amendments Provide Relief via MiFID II
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently issued amendments to its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTSs) under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR) that should give firms, especially those that trade less frequently, more breathing room. “The amendments are designed to respond to the legitimate concerns of the European… Read More >>
ESMA Fines DTCC for Trade Repository Shortcomings
Post-trade infrastructure services provider DTCC has been fined nearly $73,000 by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for alleged failures to properly offer “direct and immediate access to derivatives trading data” for nine months in 2014. The regulator’s fine of €64,000 (equivalent to 72,907.15 given a 1 EUR = 1.13917 USD rate) is the… Read More >>
FIX Group Backs ISO OTC Identifier Effort
The FIX Trading Community is throwing its support behind a standards-creation effort that would assign identifiers to over-the-counter (OTC) derivative instruments as mandated by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MiFID II) requirements. The non-profit body behind the FIX electronic trading protocol is sponsoring a study group of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that… Read More >>
Swaps Clearing in Europe Catching Up to U.S. Rules
The European Union has set the date for its clearing obligation, bringing European financial reform more into line with current U.S. obligations. The publication of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) regulatory technical standards (RTS) in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 1, 2015 will kick over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives clearing into… Read More >>
FIX May Get New Timestamps for MiFID II Compliance
The FIX Protocol for electronic trading may soon support higher timestamp resolution to help market participants comply with the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) for Europe, according to the governing body behind the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) standard. Implementing MiFID II will involve many IT challenges for industry participants, says Kathleen Traynor,… Read More >>
U.S. Hedge Funds Face Risky Path Around AIFMD
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) – European Union risk-mitigation regulations that target hedge and private equity funds – took effect last month causing noncompliant North American firms to rely on “reverse solicitation” for new European investors, a risky process whose legal guidelines are hazy at best, say industry observers. As the ripple effects… Read More >>
