18.09.2012
By Simon Miller
Just under half of financial services firms fail to consider MiFID II within the context of the wider regulatory landscape according to a European-wide survey released today.
Despite survey respondents expecting that MiFID II will have a major strategic impact and significantly influence their systems and business models, only 52% said they were considering the draft legislation for the instruments directive within the context of the wider landscape of regulatory change.
However, many firms will be considering a strategic analysis of the impacts before the end of 2012, although asset managers appeared to have done less work on this compared with broker dealers, retail banks and private banks.
The survey also found that respondents were not clear on the cost of dealing with MiFID II, but over 50% allocated budget to undertaking initial activity in 2012.
Ullrich Hartmann, financial services partner at PwC which conducted the survey, commented: "Despite MiFID II deadlines being pushed back, it remains a key component of wider regulatory reform. Our survey findings show that a number of firms have already set up working groups and are raising internal awareness, conducting initial high level impact assessments and undertaking analysis of the potential scenarios of MiFID II outcomes. Financial services firms are right to act sooner in order to set their future strategy and develop related systems and processes to prepare their business for MiFID II."
In addition, the report, Are you taking control of the MiFID II agenda?, found that lobbying was unlikely to change the minds of regulators or politicians but despite this broker dealers had engaged more actively on lobbying as opposed to asset managers and retail firms.
Hartmann added: "Recognising the importance of considering MiFID II within the broader landscape of regulatory reform should help firms manage their change programmes in a more effective manner, compared to those who intend to deal with MiFID II in isolation."
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