While there has been little news on the MiFID II side of things recently for those in energy and commodities, there has been movement in the wider financial world since our last post here.

This article on the Bloomberg web site reports that Goldman Sachs is facing an FCA probe over incorrect MiFID II reporting. It implies that the issue is over reporting, i.e. the sending of too much data rather than filtering to the correct scope. This article on the Financial News web site reports that the UK’s FCA has started MiFID II audits.

This article on FT.com reports that the impact of MiFID II on liquidity has not been as negative as feared. It also examines the effect of  the “research unbundling” rules brought in by MiFID II. On the buy side, the increased fees have had a small to medium impact, whereas on the sell side the impact has been larger. This article, also on FT.com, reports on how the market has adapted to MiFID II.

This article on CitywireSelector reports that some smaller firms have managed to mitigate the effect of MiFID II. This article on the Tabb forum looks at the possible effect of the “no LEI, no trade” rule which started on 3rd January, arguing that small firms are at a disadvantge in this area.

The impact and enforcement of MiFID II on the financial world appears to have started. It remains to be seen when this will occur for the energy and commodities sectors.