Don’t dilute trading rules, EU urged

The bloc’s member states and the European Parliament are in final talks on revising trading rules, known as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), to reflect rapid advances in technology and apply lessons from the financial crisis.

The negotiations have been bogged down for months, pitting Britain against Germany and France.

The coalition urged the bloc to keep a so-called “open access” proposal in MiFID which would give users of markets a choice of where to clear their securities transactions.

“Access will benefit end-investors, stimulate true choice in the execution and clearing of products such as exchange traded derivatives ... reduce costs and minimise risk in the financial system,” its members said.

The letter was signed by the London Stock Exchange, the European Fund and Asset Management Association, BlackRock, Fidelity Worldwide Investment, State Street, Allianz Global Investors, the Association of British Insurers, the UK’s Investment Management Association and its Italian counterpart Assogestioni.

Germany wants to dilute the open access provision in a step critics say will shield Deutsche Boerse from opening up its in-house Eurex Clearing arm to competition. Regulators are requiring derivatives to be cleared to make markets safer.