MiFID II Directive has been a significant catalyst for the much-needed overhaul in the European financial regulatory market. The Directive adopted on the 15th of April 2014 under the countenance of the European Parliament, is to be transposed into Member State national law by the 3rd of July 2017. Endorsing a highly transparent and resilient legislative framework, MiFID II has the effect of fostering investor protection whilst simultaneously suppressing any participant inclinations towards market abuse.
In light of the above, MiFID II enhances trading data requirements with the aim of improving the quality and hence the reliability of the data submitted. Such emphasis upon data requirements is well-suited with the Directive’s new legislative framework involving the creation of new trading venues which results in a greater aggregation of data from a wider spectrum of financial instruments.
Consequently, Data Reporting Service Providers (‘DRSP’) are now also caught under the Directive’s framework, being classified as a new category of licence holders. Prior authorisation is therefore required by the competent authorities before the service can be rendered to clients.
Who classifies as a Data Reporting Service Provider?
Under MiFID II[1], a DRSP is any entity which operates the following three activities:
- Approved Publication Arrangements (APAs) - a person authorised under the Directive to provide the service of publishing trade reports on behalf of investment firms.[2]
- Approved Reporting Mechanisms (ARMs) – a person authorised to provide the service of reporting details of transactions to competent authorities on behalf of investment firms.[3]
- Consolidated Tape Providers (CTPs) - a person authorised under this Directive to provide the service of collecting trade reports for specific financial instruments from regulated markets, MTFs, OTFs and APAs and consolidating them into a continuous electronic live data stream providing price and volume data per financial instrument.[4]
DRSPs under the MFSA
Seeing as this activity has been newly introduced by MiFID II, the MFSA also aims to follow in the Directive’s footsteps by introducing authorisation requirements for entities wishing to hold a DRSP licence.[5] Hence, there will also be an additional category of licence holders under Maltese law as a result of the transposition.
In order to be authorised, a prospective DRSP licence holder must satisfy the requirements set out in Article 59 of the Directive, as well as the Regulatory Technical Standards published by the European Commission.[6]
Moreover, the MFSA subjects authorisation to the presentation of a programme of operations as well as policies and procedures to identify and disclose potential conflicts of interest.
The MFSA will follow Articles 7 and 61 of the Directive as regards timeframes for granting or refusing requests for authorisation. As per both Articles, notice of authorisation or refusal shall be provided within 6 months.
To view the MFSA’s Consultation Document with the recommended amendments visit- file:///C:/Users/gchircop/Desktop/001%20Consultation%20Document%20ISR-ISP.pdf
[1] MiFID II Directive, Annex 1, Section D
[2] MiFID II Directive, Article 4(1)(52)
[3] MiFID II Directive, Article 4(1)(54)
[4] MiFID II Directive, Article 4(1)(53)
[5] MFSA, ‘Consultation on the proposed changes to Part A and Part BI of the Investment Services Rules for Investment Services Providers.’
[6] The Regulatory Technical Standards may be accessed at:
http://ec.europa.eu/finance/securities/docs/isd/mifid/rts/160602-rts-13_en.pdf
Ongoing capital requirements for MiFID firms - Article by Chetcuti Cauchi and Gabriella Chircop on Times Of Malta
