APCIMS CEO: Cost Burden Of Compliance High On Financial Institutions

The cost burden of compliance with the EU's markets in Financial Instruments Directive will be felt by financial institutions long before its benefits are realized, according to Angela Knight, CEO of APCIMS. At the Peterevans Forum last week, titled 'MiFID

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The cost burden of compliance with the EU’s markets in Financial Instruments Directive will be felt by financial institutions long before its benefits are realized, according to Angela Knight, CEO of APCIMS.

At the Peterevans Forum last week, titled ‘MiFID: A Passport to Europe or Certain Cost but Uncertain Benefit?’ Knight addressed industry concerns about the scope of the Directive’s influence on existing trading activities and levels of consultation with the sector.

“While it’s a fair assumption that increased competition across borders will lead to greater innovation and more trading opportunities for practitioners, the initial costs of complying with MiFID’s proposed regulatory framework is where UK institutions will feel the force of the new directive in the short term,” she said.

According to Knight, the directive was actually designed to reduce the cross-border barriers between EU countries for wholesale. However, she said, the reality is that the changes for retail firms are much greater.

The Directive, which aims to open up cross-border trading in the EU, forms a central pillar of the EU’s Financial Services Action Plan and is due for implementation in April 2007.

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