Mifid II adjustments fail to ease energy firms' worries

Energy firms such as utilities are fighting hard to avoid being regulated under Mifid II and having to comply with onerous EU financial rules. But despite last-minute changes to regulators’ proposed technical standards, the chances of escape appear slim

There is unlikely to be a way out of Mifid regulation for many energy firms

To some commodity market participants, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) might sound like an arcane piece of European Union legislation that has little effect on their business. Indeed, the 2004 Mifid directive contained generous exemptions for firms that trade commodities – including blanket exemptions for commodity dealers and firms trading on their own account – meaning many did not have to worry about the far-reaching implications of becoming licensed under the law.

That