Exemption for the Central Bank of the United Kingdom (Bank of England) under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR)

Summary:

Report presented on 30 January 2019 by the European Commission assessing the regulation governing markets in financial instruments in the light of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Further information:

The Regulation on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFIR) introduces a market structure which aims to ensure that trading, wherever appropriate, takes place on regulated platforms and that trading is made transparent to ensure efficient and fair price formation.

Article 1(6) of MiFIR grants an exemption from pre- and post-trade transparency requirements in respect of a transaction by a member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) where that transaction is entered into in performance of monetary, foreign exchange and financial stability policy.

In addition, Article 1(9) of MIFIR empowers the Commission to extend the scope of this exemption to third-country central banks where the prerequisite conditions are fulfilled.

In the light of the United Kingdom’s approaching change of status to a third country this report analyses the appropriateness of extending the Article 1(9) exemption from the scope of MiFIR to the Bank of England.