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FinTech Trends Newsletter Week 1st January – 5th January 2018
As MiFID II arrives: now the hard work really starts…
MiFID II, the biggest shake-up in financial regulation for a decade, may have ar- rived this week but for hedge funds, asset managers and brokers across Europe the work continues as the complexity and costs of full compliance begin to emerge.
Across Europe, Buyside and Sellside back offices have been a hive of activity over the normally dull festive period as firms scrambled to be ready by the 3 January deadline for the introduction of MiFID II, a sprawling revision to financial market rules that runs to 7000 pages and covers everything from the costs of analyst research, the reporting of more detailed information about trade transactions to the recording & storage of all deal and trade related phone calls & interactions.
While larger buy and sell side firms have boasted that they were now substantially ready for MiFID II, the same could not be said for smaller firms and some of Europe’s major trading venues, including Germany’s Eurex, ICE Futures Europe and the London Metal Exchange which have each been given a last- minute reprieve by financial market regulators over the introduction of non- discriminatory access requirements for trading venues. With uncertainty about Britain’s post-Brexit future and relationship with overseas market operators clouding the issues, the clearing houses have been given an extra 30 months to comply with the rules. Similar deadline extensions are also expected to be granted to other major clearers across the continent and in the UK.
Likewise, the European Securities and Market Authority has already moved to give trading firms an extra six months to meet new provisions for appending Legal Entity Identifiers to client trading activity.
Rules relating to recording of all trade and deal related phone calls/data and capturing and storing of data for asset managers has also causing headaches, with buy-side firms still uncertain about how the regulations will be interpreted by market authorities and if it effects them at all.
Estimates that Europe’s biggest banks will ultimately spend 40 million EUR on achieving full compliance, with the total industry price tag running to as much as 2.5 billion EUR including buyside expenditure.
Who knows what the real total industry bill is, but some are billing the regulation as a “punishment tax” levied on the industry over past financial market excesses prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
For many, the MiFID II deadline is just the first staging post on a longer compliance and IT journey. Financial Firms may be keen to refocus resource on other priorities as soon as possible, but work on MiFID II will have to continue with adequate resourcing for around six months into 2018.
The MiFID II deadline may have barely arrived, but buyside firms now have to turn their attention to other areas of regulatory change, such as GDPR and Securities Financing Transactions Regulation. Further groundwork will also be required in those areas
where FCA consultation is evolving, such as the Senior Managers Regime. 2018 will be a year of change for the asset management industry and all these deadlines are approaching fast.
Now, where did we put our GDPR and PSD2 manual’s ?
MiFID II was being introduced on the 3rd January 2018 will have consequences for the way in which your firm and your IT managed services provider manages its IT systems. Understanding MiFID II is the first step towards putting in place the necessary systems and processes to meet the new requirements. Contact Storm IT Financial for help and guidance about MiFID II & GDPR and it’s effects on your firm, our MiFID II Call Recording & Data Compliant Solutions and how you can align your IT systems to the directive’s requirements.
Storm IT Financial FinTech News & Trends picks: Week 1st January – 5th January 2018
Launch of ‘Mifid II’ does not mean mission accomplished, City warned
Meeting the deadline does not mean the work is over:
MiFID II: What is it, how will it affect the world of finance and why should we care?
Directive aims to protect investors and make sure financial markets operate in fairest and most transparent way possible. Here’s….:
Five Things We Learned About MiFID II on Its First Day at Work
MiFID II’s first day turned out to be more of a whimper as traders waited to see how the shakeup panned out:
Mifid II: the new rules aimed at avoiding another crash
A major set of new rules governing European Union financial markets has now come into effect:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42548746
Why GDPR can drive trust in financial services
As businesses worldwide gear up for GDPR, the financial services industry is in prime position to take the lead:
Day of the Mifids: Controversial EU regulations for the asset manage- ment industry finally kick in
The long-awaited regulatory shake-up has finally rippled through the City and across Europe:
Europe begins countdown to Mifid II
Sweeping changes to EU rules on financial instruments come into force on January 3:
https://www.ft.com/content/b8a9a634-e116-11e7-a8a4-0a1e63a52f9c
Bankers work around the clock to iron out EU finance reforms
New MiFID II rules seek to apply lessons from financial crisis and aim to force banks to report transactions:
As MiFID Nears, This Risk Officer Is Looking Forward to February
Compliance officers tasks have ranged from ensuring that the right technology is put in place…:
2017: A Regulatory Reflection
“the more things change, the more they stay the same.” sentiment fits nicely with financial services:
What 2017 Means For Fintech In 2018
Increasing amounts of investment going into financial technology, 2018 could be the year for fintech:
Fintech leads the way as investment in UK tech firms doubles in 2017
As Brexit negotiations grind on, London’s fintech sector remains a hotbed of investment activity…:
