ESMA · ESMA_QA_1500 Answer Published

Multilateral and bilateral systems - Systematic internalisers

Regulation
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) Directive 2014/65/EU- Secondary Markets
Topic
Multilateral and bilateral systems
Submitted
2022-12-05
Answered
2022-12-16

Question

Can an investment firm acting as single liquidity provider on an RM and/or an MTF, operate an SI?

Answer

[ESMA 70-872942901-38 MiFID II MiFIR market structures Q&A, Q&A 5.33] Yes, but only if the two activities are fully separated. ESMA notes that instances where an investment firm acts as a single liquidity provider on an RM and/or MTF generate a conflict of interest, due to the investment firm having privileged access to order book information when acting in its liquidity provider capacity. To better manage the possible conflict of interest the investment firm should take all the necessary steps to carry out the two activities in a separated manner (e.g. having distinct management and operational teams and physical separation of activities, ensuring segregation of execution systems and having safeguards in place to ensure that there is no information leakage across the two activities). The above is without prejudice to the MiFID II provisions on identification and management of conflicts of interest to be met by each of the two investment firms.

This Q&A is published by European Securities and Markets Authority and is non-binding. It does not constitute legal advice. Updated weekly from official ESA sources.

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