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Markets in Financial
Instruments Directive (MiFID)
DIRECTIVE 2004/39/EC
Article 27
Obligation for investment firms to make public firm quotes
1. Member States shall require systematic internalisers in shares
to publish a firm quote in those shares admitted to trading on a
regulated market for which they are systematic
internalisers and for which there is a liquid market.
In the case of shares for which there is not a liquid market,
systematic internalisers shall disclose quotes to their clients on
request.
The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to systematic
internalisers when dealing for sizes up to standard market size.
Systematic internalisers that only deal in sizes above standard
market size shall not be subject to the provisions of this
Article.
Systematic internalisers may decide the size or sizes at which
they will quote. For a particular share each quote shall include a
firm bid and/or offer price or prices for a size or sizes which
could be up to standard market size for the class of shares to
which the share belongs. The price or prices shall also reflect
the prevailing market conditions for that share.
Shares shall be grouped in classes on the basis of the arithmetic
average value of the orders executed in the market for that share.
The standard market size for each class of shares shall be a size
representative of the arithmetic average value of the orders
executed in the market for the shares included in each class of
shares.
The market for each share shall be comprised of all orders
executed in the European Union in respect of that share excluding
those large in scale compared to normal market size for that
share.
2. The competent authority of the most relevant market in terms of
liquidity as defined in Article 25 for each share shall determine
at least annually, on the basis of the arithmetic average value of
the orders executed in the market in respect of that share, the
class of shares to which it belongs. This information shall be
made public to all market participants.
3. Systematic internalisers shall make public their quotes on a
regular and continuous basis during normal trading hours.
They shall be entitled to update their quotes at any time. They
shall also be allowed, under exceptional market conditions, to
withdraw their quotes.
The quote shall be made public in a manner which is easily
accessible to other market participants on a reasonable commercial
basis.
Systematic internalisers shall, while complying with the
provisions set down in Article 21, execute the orders they receive
from their retail clients in relation to the shares for which they
are systematic internalisers at the quoted prices at the time of
reception of the order.
Systematic internalisers shall execute the orders they receive
from their professional clients in relation to the shares for
which they are systematic internalisers at the quoted price at the
time of reception of the order.
However, they may execute those orders at a better price in
justified cases provided that this price falls within a public
range close to market conditions and provided that the orders are
of a size bigger than the size customarily undertaken by a retail
investor.
Furthermore, systematic internalisers may execute orders they
receive from their professional clients at prices different than
their quoted ones without having to comply with the conditions
established in the fourth subparagraph, in respect of transactions
where execution in several securities is part of one transaction
or in respect of orders that are subject to conditions other than
the current market price.
Where a systematic internaliser who quotes only one quote or whose
highest quote is lower than the standard market size receives an
order from a client of a size bigger than its quotation size, but
lower than the standard market size, it may decide to execute that
part of the order which exceeds its quotation size, provided that
it is executed at the quoted price, except where otherwise
permitted under the conditions of the previous two subparagraphs.
Where the systematic internaliser is quoting in different sizes
and receives an order between those sizes, which it chooses to
execute, it shall execute the order at one of the quoted prices in
compliance with the provisions of Article 22, except where
otherwise permitted under the conditions of the previous two
subparagraphs.
4. The competent authorities shall check:
(a) that investment firms regularly update bid and/or offer prices
published in accordance with paragraph 1 and maintain prices which
reflect the prevailing market conditions;
(b) that investment firms comply with the conditions for price
improvement laid down in the fourth subparagraph of paragraph 3.
5. Systematic internalisers shall be allowed to decide, on the
basis of their commercial policy and in an objective
nondiscriminatory way, the investors to whom they give access to
their quotes.
To that end there shall be clear standards for governing access to
their quotes. Systematic internalisers may refuse to enter into or
discontinue business relationships with investors on the basis of
commercial considerations such as the investor credit status, the
counterparty risk and the final settlement of the transaction.
6. In order to limit the risk of being exposed to multiple
transactions from the same client systematic internalisers shall
be allowed to limit in a non-discriminatory way the number of
transactions from the same client which they undertake to enter at
the published conditions.
They shall also be allowed, in a non-discriminatory way and in
accordance with the provisions of Article 22, to limit the total
number of transactions from different clients at the same time
provided that this is allowable only where the number and/or
volume of orders sought by clients considerably exceeds the norm.
7. In order to ensure the uniform application of paragraphs 1 to
6, in a manner which supports the efficient valuation of shares
and maximises the possibility of investment
firms of obtaining the best deal for their clients, the Commission
shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
64(2), adopt implementing measures which:
(a) specify the criteria for application of paragraphs 1 and 2
(b) specify the criteria determining when a quote is published on
a regular and continuous basis and is easily accessible as well as
the means by which investment firms may comply with their
obligation to make public their quotes, which shall include the
following possibilities:
(i) through the facilities of any regulated market which has
admitted the instrument in question to trading;
(ii) through the offices of a third party;
(iii) through proprietary arrangements;
(c) specify the general criteria for determining those
transactions where execution in several securities is part of one
transaction or orders that are subject to conditions other
than current market price;
(d) specify the general criteria for determining what can be
considered as exceptional market circumstances that allow for the
withdrawal of quotes as well as conditions for
updating quotes;
(e) specify the criteria for determining what is a size
customarily undertaken by a retail investor.
(f) specify the criteria for determining what constitutes
considerably exceeding the norm as set down in paragraph 6;
(g) specify the criteria for determining when prices fall within a
public range close to market conditions.
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