AFME comments on likely impact on fixed income markets of ESMA’s MiFID II consultation proposals

19 December 2014

The introduction of transparency requirements needs to be carefully tailored to the specifics of those markets to avoid disruption and broader impacts on investors and issuers.

Christian Krohn, Managing Director at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), said: 

“ESMA's proposals in this consultation raise numerous issues - one being the likely impact on fixed income markets. We are concerned the proposals could impact these markets’ liquidity, increase investor costs and make issuance of debt more expensive, and we hope to continue to engage with policymakers to ensure MiFID II will not be an obstacle to the growth agenda of the European Commission."

"For example, ESMA proposes to define a large number of instruments as liquid, although the majority of fixed income instruments trade highly infrequently, and it is a key component of ESMA’s mandate to assess liquidity.”

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