ESMA · ESMA_QA_1616 Answer Published

Trading venues - maximum bid-ask ranges for all instruments traded on venues or only for instruments with market making scheme

Regulation
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) Directive 2014/65/EU- Secondary Markets
Topic
Direct Electronic Access and algorithmic trading
Submitted
2017-07-07
Answered
2017-07-07

Question

Article 1(2)(d) of RTS 8 establishes that quotes shall be deemed to have competitive prices where they are posted at or within the maximum bid-ask range set by the trading venue. Does this mean that trading venues have to have published maximum bid-ask ranges for all instruments traded on their venues or only for the instruments on which they have a market making scheme in place?

Answer

[ESMA 70-872942901-38 MiFID II MiFIR market structures Q&A, Q&A 3.20] There are two different obligations when an investment firm is pursuing a market making strategy in trading venues allowing or enabling algorithmic trading through their systems: There is a generic obligation, not restricted to specific financial instruments, for trading venues to sign written market making agreements with all investment firms pursuing a market making strategy on their systems (Article 48(2) and Article 17(3) and (4) of MiFID II) when the circumstances described in Article 1(2) of RTS 8 are met; and Trading venues must have market making schemes in place only with respect to the instruments listed in Article 5 of RTS 8. In order for investment firms to assess whether they are posting competitive prices on a trading venue and may therefore potentially qualify as engaging into a market making strategy, and have to enter into a market making agreement, trading venues enabling or allowing algorithmic trading through their systems must make public a maximum bid-ask range for each financial instrument they made available for trading. ESMA notes that trading venues may group financial instruments when setting the maximum bid-ask spread for these purposes.

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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