EU unveils trading rules
THE European Commission is set to announce an overhaul of trading platforms and penalties for financial crime this morning as its head, Michel Barnier, unveils two new hefty tomes of regulation.
The Market in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) will target commodities derivatives trading by handing national and EU regulators new powers to slap bans on any market practice they see as damaging.
It could also impose limits on the volume of any individual position and will force aggregate positions in each kind of commodities derivative to be declared “to better assess the role of speculation in these markets”.
More generally, it will propose making all private derivatives trading platforms subject to the same regulations as centralised clearing houses.
Alongside MiFID II, Barnier will publish the latest Market Abuse Directive (MAD), which will demand new powers to treat insider trading and market manipulation as crimes.