Brussels, 22/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - “There is no doubt that it (the MiFID directive) has stimulated greater competition in some areas but there appears to have been a significant migration of share trading transactions from the more regulated MiFID venues to the unregulated over the counter broker dealer venues where substantial unregulated dark pools of liquidity have built up,” said Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy at the Public Affairs Ireland conference in Dublin on Friday 18 September. He went on: “This gives rise to questions as to whether there are unfair commercial advantages for the operators of these venues and whether the trend undermines price discovery, market integrity and efficiency for the market as a whole”. From the end of 2009, the European Commission will begin a review of the implementation of directive 2004/39/EC on financial instruments markets.
McCreevy also announced legislative proposals to revise directive 1994/19/EC regulating national deposit guarantee systems. In June, the Commission launched a consultation exercise on the usefulness of putting in place a genuine Community system (see EUROPE 9919). European rules impose a minimum reimbursement threshold (maximum €50,000 since July 2009 and €100,000 from January 2011) for customers of banks that go bust. (M.B./transl.rt)