Oversight of MTF shares trading under review

The FSA is keen to ensure that markets remain efficient and orderly in the wake of the Government's decision to extend, from 1 November, the relief from stamp duty for intermediaries trading as principals in shares listed on a regulated market to all intermediaries, including non-regulated markets, and to all trades, which would cover over-the-counter (OTC) bargains executed on a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). The regulator accepts that the Treasury's move could increase competition by offering a wider range of available trading venues but has concerns about the absence of provisions for coordinated market oversight and transparency requirements for OTC trading.