CESR published its second set of technical advice to the European Commission in the context of reviewing MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which entered into force in November 2007. 

Following a first set of technical advice published on 29 July, this second set completes CESR’s technical advice on MiFID. The advice provides a significant contribution to the European discussion on delivering the objectives set out by the G20 in its meeting of 25 September 2009 by setting out a series of measures to foster an efficient and sound EU derivatives market. This includes providing better tools to securities’ regulators to monitor transactions and positions on those markets. CESR’s advice on post-trade transparency standards and client categorisation will assist the Commission in improving the functioning of the MiFID framework in these two important areas.

Carlos Tavares, Chair of CESR and of the Portuguese Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM), noted: “CESR’s second set of advice on how to overhaul MiFID addresses important issues that have been at the core of discussions by regulators internationally and at the European level, since the wake of the financial crisis. Our advice represents the culmination of CESR’s work to modernise the MiFID framework and has at its centre the objective of strengthening market resilience. It is also forward-looking in proposing a significant role for ESMA in fostering the standardisation and organised platform trading of OTC derivatives in line with wider global developments. This new role will be conducted in articulation with the national competent authorities, which must have improved tools at their disposal to monitor activities in the OTC markets.”

The technical advice includes policy proposals on standardisation and organised platform trading of OTC derivatives, post-trade transparency standards on equity markets and client categorisation. CESR also provides its responses to the questions presented by the Commission in its request for additional information that were not included in the earlier set of responses published in July 2010.

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