For asset managers the main issue continues to be the reclassification of ETDs as OTCs as a result of the non-equivalence of UK regulated markets. While we understand that a review is legally mandated at this point in time, we do not see value in recalibrating the various thresholds or making changes to the calculation methodologies unless these are in the two areas we define below. Our main concern revolves around the fact that changes would carry significant compliance costs while making little impact on the population of counterparties and notional captured by the thresholds.
Capital markets
Investment managers, acting on behalf of their retail and institutional clients, are among the largest investors in financial markets. They represent a key component of the market’s “buy-side” segment.
In representing the interests of its members on wholesale capital market issues, EFAMA advocates for fair, deep, liquid, and transparent capital markets, supported by properly regulated and supervised market infrastructure.
ESMA consultation on the review of clearing thresholds under EMIR
EFAMA’s response to ESMA’s Review of the MiFID II framework on best execution reports
This is a timely and necessary review to which we hope to contribute in a constructive manner. As already recognised in the consultation paper and in the MiFID Quick Fix proposal, RTS 27 and RTS 28 currently fall short of the objective of providing valuable and comparable datasets for investment managers and the investing public. We appreciate the present effort to revise reporting requirements to produce more meaningful reports.
Industry Approach to CSDR Settlement Discipline Regime
The Joint Associations1 welcome clarification from ESMA that national competent authorities are expected not to prioritise supervisory actions in relation to the application of the CSDR buy-in regime.2
Joint Statement on EU Commission proposal for revised Market in Financial Instrument Regulation (MiFIR)
We see great value in the creation of a consolidated tape to support Europe’s capital markets. However, we qualify that statement with a reminder that the framework for a successful consolidated tape should
i) address the known market failure around market data costs,
EFAMA welcomes proposal on affordable consolidated tape - The association continues to urge action on market data costs
EFAMA is pleased to read today the details of a robust MiFIR proposal from the European Commission addressing key areas of reform around the creation of a consolidated tape (CT), along with adjustments to transparency requirements on trading.
Buy-side use-cases for a real-time consolidated tape
A real-time consolidated tape, provided it is made available at a reasonable cost, will bring many benefits to European capital markets. A complete and consistent view of market-wide prices and trading volumes is necessary for any market, though this is especially true for the EU where trading is fragmented across a large number of trading venues. A real-time consolidated tape should cover equities and bonds, delivering data in ‘as close to real-time as technically possible’ after receipt of the data from the different trade venues.