The gradual push towards January 2018 continues and with it venues are working to shore up their services to be compliant with MiFID II. NEX Optimisation has announced its latest enhancement entailing its messaging services, which now has extended towards Traiana’s Harmony network.
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Traiana’s Harmony network helps deliver a wide range of global market connectivity, processing trades from both buy- and sell-side participants in the foreign exchange, equities, and exchange-traded derivatives space. Ahead of the January 3 implementation of MiFID II, NEX upgraded the network infrastructure to enable participants to exchange additional information.
Addressing regulatory obligations
The improved flow of information and consequent transparency of reporting many post-trade elements are areas of emphasis under MiFID II. The upgrade from NEX will also make the Harmony network fully compliant under the new regulatory regime.
More specifically, this will entail support for key data elements associated with transparency, including transaction reporting, venue Execution , instrument and entity identifiers, timestamps, over-the-counter (OTC) post-trade indicators, and unbundling of research and execution fees.
NEX’s upgrade to the Harmony network the culmination of a lengthy consultation and recent review of the new regulations from a plethora of investment firms and industry working groups. Indeed, MiFID II has loomed large for most groups for over a year, with such initiatives and solutions being at a premium with less than six months until its passage.
Ahead of the game?
The upgrade also helps address any obligations for the Harmony network well ahead of any deadlines. Many other venues have not been as quick to reconcile their requisite compliance needs, prompting the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to urge firms to prepare for the new regulations without delay. In late June, a report showed that upwards of 90 percent of Buy-Side firms were at risk of missing the MiFID II deadline.
Such developments are instrumental to Traiana’s Harmony network, given the need for multi-lateral trade clearing, transaction reporting, and other obligations necessitated by MiFID II. The latest enhancements to its network also are just one of many upgrades affecting its infrastructure, given a groundswell of regulatory obligations supporting USIs and UTIs for CFTC and EMIR regulatory reporting.
Steve French, Head of Connectivity and Messaging, NEX Optimisation, commented: "It's clear from the level of interest and participation from existing clients that the Harmony network is key to helping firms satisfy a number of their regulatory requirements. NEX Optimisation is at the forefront of providing services to support MiFID II compliance."
The latest upgrade caps off a busy two-month stretch for NEX, which has already addressed its FX solutions suite and capabilities. This included the rollout of a new automated settlement service for OTC FX and a credit rebalancer tool last month.
