MiFID 2 delay official

To the surprise of no-one, the European Commission has today proposed a one year extension to the application date of MiFID 2. The new deadline is 3 January 2018. Commissioner Jonathan Hill said,

“Given the complexity of the technical challenges highlighted by ESMA, it makes sense to extend the deadline for MiFID II. We will therefore give people another year to prepare properly and make the necessary changes to their systems. Meanwhile, we are pressing ahead with the level II legislation to implement MiFID II and expect to announce those measures shortly”

The proposed extension will have to be formally ratified by Parliament and the Council, their endorsement is likely to be unproblematic and by way of a simplified procedure. The application dates of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the Central Securities Depositaries Regulation (CSDR) have also been amended.

Despite widespread speculation that various elements of MiFID 2 may be phased-in, the interdependent structure of this complex legislation always made this an unlikely possibility. Market participants will welcome the extension, though it remains to be seen whether one year is sufficient for both regulators and regulated.

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