MiFID II Two Months In: Europe’s Evolving Equity Market Landscape

Europe’s trading industry has been operating under the MIFID II framework for nearly three months. Now is a good time to take stock. Despite the many years of intense preparation, there is a palpable sense of ‘plus ça change’ among equity market practitioners – the more things change, the more they stay the same. There has not yet been the significant shift to lit venues which regulators so desired, and over-the-counter trading continues to make up a significant proportion of overall volume. It should be noted it is still early days for the rulebook, and the delayed introduction of dark pool caps means it will take more time for some key changes to play out. This Market Note provides an overview of MiFID II’s initial impact on Europe’s equities market, using exclusive data from TABB Group’s European Equities LiquidityMatrix series, and expectations for 2018.