Ireland has become one of the latest member states to fully transpose the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID)
Following on from the Investment Services Directive of 1993, the MIFID harmonises and modernises the EU-wide legislative framework for investment firms, promoting greater cross-border competition and the competitiveness of the EU financial sector overall, and will provide investment firms with an effective 'single passport' to provide their services across the EU on the basis of their home country authorisation.
The transposing regulations will take effect from November 1st, 2007. To date only three other Member States (Lithuania, Romania and the UK) have transposed this Directive.
The Directive is not only complex, but also relevant to a wide range of practitioners in the financial services sector. The Financial Regulator's head of prudential regulation, Con Horan, has previously called for the industry to engage more in preparing for the Directive, in the pages of FINANCE. |