The temporary period allowing for a smooth introduction of the use of Legal Identity Identifiers (LEIs), originally brought-in in December 2017, will not be further extended and cease in July 2018, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) confirmed today.
Reporting firms have to use LEIs to report trades under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR). The six months period was introduced due to the fact that not all firms succeeded in obtaining LEIs in time for the MiFID II start.
ESMA and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) have since observed a significant increase in the LEI coverage for both issuers and clients. Based on these observations, ESMA and NCAs have concluded that there is no need to extend the initial six month period granted to support the smooth introduction of the LEI requirements under MiFIR. The temporary period will last until the 2nd July 2018, including.
Next steps
The end of the six month period means that NCAs’ activities with respect to the LEI requirements are now shifting from monitoring to ongoing supervisory actions. To ensure a high degree of supervisory convergence and the full application of MIFIR, ESMA and NCAs are coordinating the development of an appropriate and proportionate common supervisory action plan focused on compliance with the LEI reporting requirements under the respective MiFIR provisions.
Source: ESMA
Larry Thompson, vice chairman of DTCC , said in a statement: “ESMA’s announcement that no additional forbearance will be afforded to market participants means they need to make it a priority to apply for their LEIs ahead of the July 2 expiry date. Furthermore, if firms outside Europe which transact in European markets do not put the necessary measures in place to comply with the MiFID II LEI requirement by this time, they simply will not be able to trade with European counterparties.”
Virginie O’Shea, research director at consultancy Aite Group, said:
ESMA has drawn a line in the sand for LEI registration and renewal – 2nd July 2018. No LEI, no trade. #MIFIDII https://t.co/1Ktr07o3cP pic.twitter.com/h9gX4U25JC
— Virginie O'Shea (@virginieoshea) June 20, 2018
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
And receive exclusive articles on securities markets
It's been a month since we had our Women In Finance Awards in New York City at the Plaza! Take a look back tab some moments, and nominate for our upcoming awards in Mexico City and Singapore here: https://www.marketsmedia.com/category/events/
4
Citadel Securities told the SEC that trading tokenized equities should remain under existing market rules, a position that drew responses from various crypto industry groups. @ShannyBasar for @MarketsMedia:
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda argued that private assets belong in retirement plans, saying diversified alts can improve risk-adjusted returns and that the answer to optimal exposure “is not zero.” @ShannyBasar reporting for @MarketsMedia:
COO of the Year Award winner! 🏆
Discover how Jennifer Kaiser of Marex earned the 2025 Women in Finance COO of the Year recognition.
Related articles
-
LSEG will provide AI-ready content, multi-asset class data and workflow solutions.
-
The white paper marks the first step to support more reliable and effective pre-trade transparency.
-
Coinbase Wrapped Assets are positioned to significantly expand across ecosystems.
-
The initial launch includes regulated data from TSX Venture Exchange.
-
Wealth managers and private banks will benefit from a unified, whole portfolio view.