The European Commission finally announced the long-awaited delay in the implementation of Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) last Wednesday.

Investment firms, market operators and data reporting services providers will have an additional year to comply with the Directive and the Regulation.

The reason for the extension lies in the complex technical infrastructure that needs to be set up for the MiFID II package to work effectively. ESMA informed the European Commission that neither competent authorities, nor market participants, would have the necessary systems ready by 3 January 2017, the original date for the MiFID II implementation. In light of these exceptional circumstances and to avoid legal uncertainty and potential market disruption, an extension was deemed necessary.

Read the full European Commission Press release here.