MiFID 2.0: Casting New Light on Europe’s Capital Markets

In a context of growing uncertainty about the future of Europe's capital markets, the review of a fundamental piece of legislation such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) offers a significant opportunity to strengthen the role of the internal market and to regain investors' confidence, which has been so badly shaken by the financial crisis. MiFID has unquestionably changed the landscape of European (secondary) capital markets: leading to a more competitive environment, huge investments in technologies and greater investor protection. At the same time it has brought the EU and the US markets closer together. To contribute to this important review, ECMI and CEPS formed a Task Force of senior representatives of European financial markets – including asset managers, stock exchanges, multilateral trading facilities, investment banks and commercial banks – to debate policy options and examine their implications for market integrity and stability, market efficiency and investor protection. This timely and well-documented report finds that the review of MiFID should clarify intended scopes, fill gaps in the legal text and harmonise supervisory practices among member states. It should make sure that the benefits of a new competitive environment are spread along the value chain and passed on to final users, both retail and wholesale investors, as appropriate.