The clock is ticking

It’s a headache for financial markets IT departments who are spending the best part of their time technology budgets upgrading technology to meet the new requirements.

But the clock is now ticking.

In a poll conducted on day one of the TradeTech event on 25 April 2017, just under two–thirds (62 per cent) of delegates felt they were confident in their pre- and post-trade analytic capabilities on their block trades.


What about Brexit?

The poll also found that problems remain around the interpretation of the Directive in different jurisdictions. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has made it clear that UK firms need to continue with their preparations for the application of MiFID. It is likely that they will also have to comply with the MiFID II legislation for a period of time before the UK leaves the EU.

The UK may also decide to keep the MiFID II regime largely intact post Brexit, making it easier for UK firms to access the EU market through the third-country provisions of MiFID II on the basis of equivalence.

“Having spoken to my customers there is still a lot of uncertainty and confusion around MiFID II,” commented Yousaf Hafeez, Head of Business Development at BT Financial Technology Services at the event.  “A lot of the market is still not fully prepared and they are now looking for solutions that can be implemented quickly to comply with MiFID II,” he went on.

To address these requirements many firms are looking for third parties solutions which can be easily integrated into their existing platforms and infrastructure, he says.

A number of FinTechs are introducing innovative applications to help firms comply with MiFID – and many of them are available on the BT Radianz Cloud which can help trading firms reduce their compliance costs.

More about how BT can help you meet your security, risk and compliance obligations

The Buy Side looks to Fintech, says Markets Media