MiFID II delay confirmed but there’s no time to waste

The European Commission has confirmed the MiFID II implementation deadline has been extended by a year to 3 January 2018.

While this isn’t in any way surprising, the clarity is welcome news for the industry after ESMA initially proposed a delay in November. The Commission says the delay is to ‘take into account of theexceptional technical implementation challenges faced by regulators and market participants.’

Twenty-two months is still a very short time for firms to complete all the changes required for MiFID II.  Given the significant size and scope of the new reporting requirements – affecting a much larger group of market participants – those affected should take action now if they haven’t already done so to get themselves ready. 

A year’s delay may seem like a long time but firms should not take their foot off the pedal.  The reprieve to 2018 means it is likely that regulators will have less tolerance for those who do not meet the new reporting requirements from the get-go.  In addition, those who leave it to the last minute may find themselves with much higher implementation costs.

We can help firms prepare for the new transaction reporting requirements required under MiFID II from getting your transaction reporting in order through to bespoke training on the new requirements.

Contact us to find out how we can give you MiFID II peace of mind.