European Parliament approves modified draft for Mifid

Working on a tight schedule of three months, the committee presented changes to parliament to make the proposed measures more efficient and increase investor protection. To this end, the committee placed particular emphasis on modifications that allowed more flexibility for block trade orders regarding post-trade transparency requirements, modifications that oblige firms to provide clients with necessary information and the possibility of conflicts of interest within companies.

Rapporteur for the European parliament Piia-Noora Kauppi, Finnish MEP of the European People's Party, said: “We will have to be vigilant and promptly invoke the review clause if it becomes apparent that premature reporting of large trades is harming the provision of liquidity to clients, making it more expensive, or rendering EU markets less competitive in other parts of the world.”

Kauppi also advised members of parliament to grant the Committee of European Securities Regulators an increased supervisory role in order to alleviate the increased regulatory burden on banking supervisors due to the Directive.

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