ESMA readies MiFID II, MAR, and CSDR

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today publishedits final technical standards (TS) on some of the most important pieces of post-crisis financial regulation: the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the Central Securities Depositaries Regulation (CSDR). ESMA’s TS translate how the legislation will apply in practice to market participants, market infrastructures and national supervisors. The new technical standards will alter the functioning of European financial markets by increasing their transparency, safety and resilience as well as investor protection. 

Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, said:
“The rules put out by ESMA today on MiFID II, MAR and CSDR will notably change the way Europe’s secondary markets function. And this will no doubt impact market participants and regulators alike. The magnitude of this change should not be underestimated. But the past has taught us that change is needed in order to make markets more transparent, efficient, and safer to invest in. This will entail a certain cost but we should not forget the other side of this equation, which is the great benefits safer and sounder markets will bring to everybody.”

1. MiFID II to increase market transparency, efficiency and safety 
The rules ESMA is delivering today on MiFID II, once implemented, will bring the majority of non-equity products into a robust regulatory regime and move a significant part of OTC trading onto regulated platforms. The key rules introduce:

Fairer, safer and more efficient markets