The U.K.'s House of Lords has asked the European Commission (EC) to halt amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), calling them ‘ill-thought out’ and ‘potentially damaging’ to the City of London.
Lord Harrison, the Chairman of the House of Lords Economic and Financial Affairs European Union (EU) Sub-Committee, says that the haste with which MiFID II has been brought forward shows that the EC simply has had no time to think through the implications of its proposals. In its report, the Lords Committee has concluded that though a review of the MiFID I regulatory package was necessary the suggestions are flawed and need to be corrected to avoid serious damage to the EU financial services industry.