Smaller firms 'falling back' on MiFID II prep, says FCA

Directive likely to be pushed back to 2018

Smaller investment firms may be "falling back" in their preparations for MiFID II as it becomes increasingly likely the directive will be pushed back to January 2018, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Several trade associations present at a recent Markets in Financial Directive II roundtable believe the news that members of the European Commission have pushed for the directive to be delayed from an "unfeasible" deadline of January 2017 has led some firms to reduce preparatory efforts, the regulator has revealed. However, the FCA noted that the firms could be waiting for clarity over the implementation date for operational and system-build reasons, in order to finalise their own internal development dates, and to request the relevant funding. Deloitte: MiFID II will give rise to EU ...