Commission Extends Application Date for MiFID II by One Year

On February 10, 2016, the European Commission agreed to postpone the implementation of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) by one year until January 3, 2018. It is reported that in view of the revised directive’s implementation, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) needs to collect data from approximately 300 trading venues on about 15 million financial instruments which cannot be achieved by January 3, 2017, the original implementation date. This delay will also decelerate the Swiss legislative process regarding the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA).