MiFID and passporting

Passporting - the right to offer investment services to clients anywhere in Europe – is the key simplification in the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which replaces the original EU Investment Services Directive (ISD) of 1993, with effect from 1 November 2007, says Alan Jenkins of Bearing Point. In this article he looks at the implications for the European Economic Area (EEA), which comprises Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as the 25 EU member states, and the accession countries (Bulgaria and Romania) .

Alan Jenkins is European head of MiFID, BearingPoint and Founder and co-Chair of the MiFID JWG Cross Jurisdiction Subject Group. He may be contacted on email: alan.jenkins@bearingpoint.com

MiFID is essentially a political measure, intended to make Europe as competitive as other global markets, in the interests both of issuers (wishing to raise money) and of investors. The pensions time-bomb, affecting many European governments, is an underlying motive for the European Commission wanting to improve confidence in the financial markets, through two key measures: greater transparency, and greater investor protection (particularly for retail investors).