According to in-house sources at banks, buyside firms and trading venues, best execution reports are both too technical for retail and not granular enough for sophisticated buysiders, rendering them essentially useless for the end investor. They may over time improve accountability, but for now market participants are calling them a dumbed-down version of what many venues already provide
Brokers on some EU exchanges have been forced to restructure relationships around controversial Esma guidance on direct electronic access. If read literally, the Q&A prevents any intermediary that’s not regulated in the EU from providing any firm with DEA on an EU exchange
Banks, trading venues and APAs remain baffled by wildly inconsistent data reports produced under Mifid II. Different APAs ask for different information; LEI codes have expired and firms argue elements of trade reports simply aren't relevant to their business
According to heads of rates trading, hedge funds and senior lawyers, practically all new deals are still benchmarked against Libor because there’s just no viable alternative yet
According to market participants at European banks and commodity firms, Mifid II’s position limits for commodity trading are already hitting on-venue trading for certain asset classes. It’s especially an issue for precious metals which are overwhelmingly traded OTC
