As we have already noted in a previous blog post, with the departure of the UK from the EU, it was expected that at some point the transaction reporting regimes of both jurisdictions would begin to diverge. Now it appears that this process is picking up steam, as the FCA and ESMA are consulting for changes to the MiFIR transaction reporting regime. See our blog post on ESMA’s MiFIR consultation here.
On the 15th of November 2024 the FCA published a discussion paper proposing changes to the aforesaid transaction regime. MAP FinTech has already drafted its responses and intends to submit its views to the FCA’s consultation.
The FCA is considering the inclusion of additional fields, but the Authority has not provided an exhaustive list for the new inclusions, nevertheless MAP FinTech understands that the proposals as set forth by the FCA imply that any new additions will be less than what ESMA is proposing.
See below a non-exhaustive list of changes that FCA is proposing to make.
AIFMs and UCITS Management Companies to become subject to the MiFIR reporting requirements
UK AIFMS and UCITS Management companies that offer the non-core services of
- the management of portfolios of investments in accordance with mandates given by investors on a discretionary client-by-client basis,
- investment advice;
- safe-keeping and administration in relation to shares or units of collective investment undertakings; and
- reception and transmission of orders in relation to financial instruments.
Will be required to submit MiFIR transaction reports in relation to the aforesaid services if they trigger a MiFIR transaction obligation.
Including the UPI for instruments of UK MiFIR Articles 26(2)(b) and 26(2)(b)
The FCA is considering to mandate the inclusion of the UPI for securities captured by the UK MiFIR reporting obligation and may be issued with a UPI, refer to our blog post on the UPI for an overview. Alternatively the FCA is considering the implementation of a modified version of the UPI (UPI+).
New Identifiers for Distributed Ledger Technology – DLT securities and for securities whose underlying assets are crypto-assets
The FCA is proposing to adopt ISO 24165 Digital Token Identifier standard for DLT securities and underlying financial instruments to identify tokenised securities or similar. For a brief overview of the ISO refer to our earlier blog on ANNA-DSB’s adoption of DTIF codes for derivatives on crypto assets.
If the FCA’s proposal is accepted firms that trade with DLT securities or securities whose underlying are crypto assets and under the assumption that the aforesaid securities are captured by the MiFIR reporting obligation, reporting firms will need to source the aforementioned ISO code.
Reporting client/counterparty categories
The FCA proposes the addition of a new field that will capture the category of the clients/counterparty. The said field will be allowed 2 values – Retail Client, Professional.
For every trade where the firm submits a report it will need to assign a category to its counterparty in accordance with the aforementioned.
Reducing reporting costs for small firms and request for feedback to remove duplication with other reporting regimes
The FCA has asked for feedback on steps it could take to remove duplication with other reporting regimes e.g. a firm reporting a MiFIR captured derivative is always required to report it under EMIR as well. Moreover the FCA recognises that some small firms who are infrequently captured by the MiFIR reporting obligation are finding it difficult and costly to comply with the reporting regime. The FCA has requested feedback on how to alleviate the burden on small firms.
Request for Feedback on messaging standards/new technologies
The FCA is asking from respondents to provide feedback on whether new technologies or alternative messaging standards could improve transaction reporting. The FCA provided as an example of these alternative messaging standards the JSON format.
The Consultation paper contains many more proposed amendments to MiFIR’s reporting requirements. The FCA is accepting feedback from market stakeholders till the 14th of February 2025.
How can MAP FinTech Assist
MiFIR Transaction Reporting is our service that allows clients to report their transactions in Financial Instruments as per the requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR, Article 26) to the National Competent Authority (NCA), either directly or through an Approved Reporting Mechanism (ARM). Transaction data received on our Polaris Platform is processed, enhanced, validated and subsequently submitted in the format prescribed by each NCA.
Contact our team of experts for more information or any assistance you may require.