MiFID II and you - here before you know it

A brief review indicates that ESMA has given more clarity on its view of fixed income trading in the post-MiFID II world. We are now one step closer to a new world of secondary trading in European bonds. In the context of the heated debate around liquidity in fixed income recently ESMA has moved to an approach that looks at each bond to determine the liquidity thresholds and hence the exact nature of the required pre- and post-trading transparency. ESMA will be looking at 100,000 Euro thresholds with at least two trades occurring daily in at least 80% of trading sessions. Hence, a certain proportion of European bonds will become subject to a wholly new regime of trading-scheduled for January 2017 if there are not additional delays to the start of MiFID II. Bringing a new level of transparency to the pre- and post-trading of fixed income products, in conjunction with the myriad other touch points of MiFID II, will stretch the resources of most financial market participants. While firms have been preparing for some time, there are different degrees of readiness. For most firms, the next year will be huge effort, to get ready for this new trading regime.