Euro authorities must get a grip on MiFID II

Firms need more clarity

European decision-makers need to urgently step-up their game in providing more clarity around the implementation of the MiFID II directive, already likely to be delayed by a year, as UK financial firms are struggling to make the necessary preparations.

It would seem like a relatively simple task, especially for bigger groups, but the main problem is still a lack of detail from the European Commission, Parliament and Council. Steven Maijoor, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has warned that even the widely expected delay until January 2018 may not be sufficient if the regulators continue to stall on details of the technical standards. ESMA first asked the European Commission to delay the implementation of MiFID II last October, saying the original January 2017 deadline did not provide enough time for mark...