The European Securities and Markets Authority ('ESMA') has today updated its Questions and Answers on the implementation of investor protection topics under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MiFIR). These include new answers on 'MiFID practices for firms selling financial instruments subject to the BRRD resolution regime'.

The new Q&As provides clarification on

  • Sales of subordinated eligible liabilities and the assessment of suitability
  • Whether Article 44a of BBRD 2 should apply only if there is an active offering on the part of the firm
  • Information to be collected from clients in order to comply with Article 44a(1) and 44a(2) of BRRD 2
  • Calculation of 10% threshold referred to in Article 44a(2)(a) of BRRD 2
  • What happens if a transaction relating to subordinated eligible liabilities is deemed unsuitable by the firm, but the retail client wishes to proceed anyway
  • Monitoring of 10% threshold referred to in Article 44a(2)(A) of BRRD 2

ESMA will continue to add questions and answers to the topics already covered and introduce new sections for other MiFID II investor protection areas which have not yet been addressed in this Q&A document. This will serve to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of MiFID II and MiFIR.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.