24 April 2007

FT: Threat to EU financial rules

The ambitious plan to create a single pan-European market for financial services hit a fresh obstacle yesterday when it emerged that all but three of the 27 EU member states could face legal action for failing to implement the rules that form the basis of the industry shake-up. Charlie McCreevy, the EU internal market commissioner, wrote to 24 national governments to express his 'deep concern' about delays over the introduction of the markets in financial instruments directive (Mifid).

He urged them to make Mifid implementation a priority but gave warning that countries that had not yet put the directive on their statute books faced formal legal challenges by theEuropean Commission - so-called infringement procedures.

The Mifid law is considered hugely important for banks, stock exchanges and other financial services providers because it will allow them to operate across the EU based on one set of rules and the oversight of their home country regulator alone.

It will also usher in an era of new competition for many operators. Regulated stock exchanges, for example, will increasingly go head-to-head with big investment banks keen to offer their own trading platforms.

After many delays, Mifid was supposed to have been on all national statute books by the end of January. Companies were then supposed to be ready for the real-life introduction of Mifid by this coming November.

Only Britain and Romania met the January deadline, with Ireland following shortly after. Even big countries such as Germany have so far failed to implement the complex legislation, with Berlin promising to give the all-clear next month.

Banks and other financial-services providers say such delays are giving them too little time to prepare for the November changeover.

Mifid will require the entire financial-services industry to overhaul its information technology systems as well as internal procedures and many established business practices.

By Tobias Buck

© Financial Times