The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) yesterday kicked off its “QFC Speaker Series powered by Bloomberg”, a line-up of industry events tackling prominent areas of opportunities and challenges, starting with discussions on European Union (EU) law relating to financial instruments.
The first edition focused on MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive), an EU legislation which regulates firms that provide services to clients linked to “financial instruments” and the venues where those instruments are traded.
The event was co-hosted by the QFC, the QFC Regulatory Authority and Bloomberg, and provided participants with the opportunity to discuss current MiFID II challenges and Bloomberg solutions.
During the session, Bloomberg experts highlighted areas of industry consensus regarding practical solutions for compliance, research, fixed income and Bloomberg’s view on how firms in the Middle East can best position themselves to meet these challenges.
“The ‘QFC Speaker Series powered by Bloomberg’ is one in a series of events planned with industry experts aimed at maintaining our edge as one of the leading and fastest growing financial centres in the world. This event comes as part of our continuous efforts to develop human capital as a driver for economic growth and prosperity in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030,” QFC chief executive Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida said.
Commencing in January 2018, the changes introduced by MiFID II would have a “significant” effect on the financial services firms doing business in the EU, and it is critical that these changes are well understood, according to QFCRA chief executive Michael Ryan.
“MiFID II focuses on core principles relating to the creation of fairer, safer and more efficient markets, this arguably is the broadest piece of financial industry legislation ever and has the potential to significantly change market structures. It is vital that firms seek to select and integrate systematic solutions to prepare for this vast regulatory change,” said Bloomberg’s country manager Boris Grozev, who moderated the event.
MiFID was initially applied in 2007, but is now being revised to improve the functioning of financial markets in light of the financial crisis and to strengthen investor protection. The changes are currently set to take effect on January 3, 2018, with the new legislation known as MiFID II.