The TRADE 52 | Page 9

ICYMI UPDATE In case you missed it, here’s the top five stories from thet- radenews.com over the last quarter 1 Bloomberg tops buy-side OMS and EMS most used list Bloomberg has topped a list of third-party order and execution man- agement systems used by the buy-side. A report from Greenwich As- sociates revealed Bloomberg’s EMS - Bloomberg EMSX -was the most used amongst buy-side traders, followed by Instinet and ITG. Its OMS - Bloomberg AIM - was also the most used by buy-siders, followed by Charles River’s system and then EZE Software. 2 made aware of banks plotting to network SIs together. “It’s disappointing with less than a year to go, to be told how some market players are seeking ways around the rules, seemingly using grey areas to avoid giving investors the best price,” she said. ESMA urged the European Com- mission to adopt delegated acts to close the loophole in the SI regime under MiFID II. Chair at ESMA, Steven Mai- joor, explained in a letter to the Commission: “Certain investment firms, that currently operate bro- ker-crossing networks, might be seeking to circumvent the MiFID II requirements by setting up networks of interconnected SIs and other liquidity providers.” ESMA has since clarified the rules around the use of SIs under MiFID II and formally stated SIs operating similar to a trading ven- ue must seek authorisation. Banks will need authorisation if an SI has an arrangement with clients which go beyond a bilateral interaction or on a regular basis, if it doesn’t undertake risk-facing ac- tivity, or if third-party buying and selling interests are executed OTC. Interactive Brokers suffers $22m market making loss The market making business at Interactive Brokers made a $22 mil- lion loss in the first quarter this year, as the firm moves forward with winding down its options market making services. The wind down is expected to cost the company an estimated one-time cost of $25 million, which includes severance and other closure costs. 3 Best execution reporting scaled back for 2018 Best execution reporting under MiFID II has been scaled back for the first year of implementation, as investment firms may not have access to “full and granular data”. ESMA’s latest Q&A explained investment firms are expected to report on best execution efforts in the first quarter of 2018. 4 No more MiFID II delays says ESMA chief ESMA has pledged there will be no further delay on the implementa- tion of MiFID II. Speaking during the FIA IDX conference in London, ESMA’s Steven Maijoor eased concerns that the regulation would face further delay. “Contrary to some recent coverage and commen- tary, MiFID 2/MiFIR will come into effect on 3 January 2018, there will be no further delay in its implementation. One delay has been enough for all concerned,” said Maijoor. 5 Nordea appoints new head of equities trading Nordea Asset Management has named its new head of equities trading, following Per Moeller’s decision to retire from the industry. Rolf Mølkjær will join Nordea as head of equities trading on 1 June this year, following six years with Nykredit Asset Management in the same position. Issue 52 TheTradeNews.com 9