Joe Beashel, Louise Dobbyn and Minister Michael D’Arcy
Minister of State at the Department of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance, Michael D’Arcy launched Matheson’s MiFID II Directory at Matheson, Dublin.
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On Thursday 10th May, Matheson launched the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, otherwise known as the MiFID II Directory, at their Dublin Headquarters in Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance, Michael D’Arcy, launched the event and took part in a briefing around how the new legislation will affect Irish businesses moving forward.
MiFID II is the most substantial overhaul of financial markets regulation in more than a decade, and the directory was seven years in the making. It will reshape securities trading on European markets and create more transparent financial markets, enhance investor protections and improve client outcomes.
Minister D’Arcy said:
The last 10 years have been unprecedented in the history of financial markets. The financial crisis exposed weaknesses in the functioning and in the transparency of financial markets. The evolution of financial markets has highlighted the need to strengthen the regulatory framework of financial markets in order to increase transparency, better protect investors, reinforce confidence, and ensure that regulators have sufficient powers to enforce these rules.
Louise Dobbyn, Senior Associate, Matheson
Challenges and opportunities of MiFID II
Louise Dobbyn, speaking at the event, discussed the many challenges and opportunities that MiFID II would bring:
MiFID II is a distinctly unique piece of European legislation, due to the breath of regulatory requirements to address the rapidly evolving markets. We are seeing firms re-consider their business strategies and change their offerings to deal with this challenging regulation and also to take advantage of the business opportunities of MiFID II. Its impact on markets in the EU and beyond is an example of the globalisation of the financial services industry.
Brexit and MiFID II
Brexit is of course an important consideration when it comes to these regulations, both for UK companies trading in Europe and Irish companies who wish to trade in the UK. Joe Beashel, Partner and Head of the Regulatory Risk Management and Compliance team said:
At Matheson we are involved in broad ranging MiFID II implementation projects for both our domestic and international clients, and are involved in shaping the Irish implementation of MiFID II through industry working groups.
Our Brexit work for our clients seeking contingency plans for post Brexit has meant we are involved in obtaining authorisations for new firms under MiFID II and extending out licences of existing firms, including banks and super mancos. This Brexit work will create a bigger pool of investment firms in Ireland and make the market more competitive.
Seven years in the making, with 30,000 pages and over 1.4 million paragraphs of rules, MiFID II represents the most substantial overhaul of financial markets regulation in more than a decade.
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