The European Council has officially confirmed the one-year delay to the implementation of MiFID II.
The Council made an agreement with the European Parliament to delay the new regulation to 3 January 2018. The potential delay was revealed in February this year by the European Commission. The approval by the European Council was the last legal hurdle to making the delay binding and was widely expected.
In a statement, the Council explained: “The one-year postponement of the transposition and application dates will affect the provision of services for investments in financial instruments and the operation of regulated financial markets.”
ESMA had informed the Commission in October last year “that a delay to the technical implementation of MiFID II was unavoidable.”
Implementing the new regulation by the initial deadline, 3 January 2017, would have led to “legal uncertainty and potential market disruption.”
The Trade has put together a checklist of what you need to know for MiFID II. Click here to find out more.