The technical management of the consolidated tape provision across Europe and the UK is a key challenge for regulators heading into 2025.
The panel, including Philippe Guillot, managing director for Data and Markets Directorate, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Jamie Whitehorn, head of trading venues, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), were Speaking at the FIX EMEA Conference in London. Regulators and market participants noted that by the end of 2025 the UK needed to have an effective consolidated tape supplying a much richer set of data than was currently available, something that the European Union will subsequently follow.
“That is going to be really challenging to get that up and going,” noted one panellist.
Concern around the development extends to the need for transparency in both the UK and European Union, and Whitehorn acknowledged that dynamic. Despite Brexit, UK regulators are keen to emphasise that they work closely with partners in Europe, and market participants note that they are working with authorities in all markets. However the greatest perceived challenge that the market faces around the the consolidated tape was perceived to be the appointment of a commercial operator to run a tape, after the development of a framework that will set the guardrails for the market operator to follow.
“So, critically it seems that that [the process is] let us get something up there [as a tape], keep the dialogue with our partners open, and then see how we can align where possible,” summarised one panellist.
The effect of cross-jurisdictional impact from US regulation was also discussed with 52% of the audience citing concern around the US market’s move to T+1 settlement as the greatest regulatory concern this year, followed by 36% identifying the overall burden of regulatory change as the greatest challenge.
However, the discussion revealed that Us regulators were open to discussing the effect of US rules on international markets,
