Securities and Banking Update – December 2005 Part 2

Countdown to MiFID

Due to be in force in 2006, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) will impose a new burden on UK firms and demand substantial and costly changes to systems and processes. Deloitte’s Mike Williams examines some of the specific challenges and suggests that, despite such short timeframes, early compliance will give firms a distinct competitive advantage.

The reported disclosure that the UK, in its role as EU President, is proposing that the compliance deadline for firms for the MiFID should be delayed until October 2007, with some firms having until October 2008 to comply, is indicative of the seriousness with which the UK is taking the level of systems changes and the general regulatory burden which are likely to be imposed under the Directive.