Launched in January 2018, MiFID II /MiFIR is now under review by The European Commission. In its initial stage it is gathering feedback on recommended changes from Member States, national competent authorities, the European Supervisory Authorities, market participants (such as data service providers, trading venues, investment firms, and asset managers, and FinTechs.

The consultation is gathering evidence from stakeholders on areas that would merit targeted adjustments, and indications on how issues should be prioritised in a potential reform of the MiFID II/MiFIR rulebook.

Commenting on the review, and the position of the post-Brexit UK, Kay Swinburne, Vice Chair of Financial Services KPMG, comments, “The Commission’s intention is to review specific parts of MIFID II – including establishing a consolidated tape, which is welcome – but once the file is open to co-legislators it will be hard to limit the changes. The UK argued for open and competitive access but some other member states were not in favour. In my opinion, the high cost of post-trade services in the EU, which are ultimately borne by the end investor, won’t go down if competition is not facilitated by enabling choice.”

She added, “The UK will be keeping a keen eye on how MIFID evolves and will need to consider carefully whether it implements any of the proposed changes. When MiFID II was being negotiated, the UK sought to ensure that the views of other key regulators, like the US SEC, were considered. The UK will wish to continue to take into account the global perspective in its own rule-making.”