Five Things We Learned About MiFID II on Its First Day at Work

MiFID II came to life. And belying its billing as a “Big Bang” that would cause disruption as it transforms the European Union’s financial markets, its first day turned out to be more of a whimper as traders waited to see how the shakeup panned out. Here are five things we learned:

So far, so good, according to Steven Maijoor, head of the European Securities and Markets Authority. That’s despite some snags, especially with the special codes everyone needs to trade with an EU-based counterparty, called legal entity identifiers, or LEIs. Certain firms have yet to acquire them, and they’ve been granted a six-month reprieve by the EU. The grace period might be more of a curse than a blessing: Some systems have already been programmed to block non-LEI trades.