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Updated standard market size for the new quoting obligations of systematic internalisers
On 8 October 2025, ESMA announced the upcoming publication of standard market size (SMS) for equity and equity-like financial instruments, which is intended to assist market participants with their preparations to apply the new quoting requirements, even though the official implementation date has not yet been specified.
The review of Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) introduced lower and upper limits to the new quoting obligations for Systematic Internalisers (SIs). The revised regulatory technical standards 1 (RTS 1), once published in the Official Journal of the EU in the coming weeks, will introduce several new provisions. Although the exact publication date is not yet known, ESMA is reminding market participants of these changes now to enable them to prepare in advance.
Among the provisions that will apply 20 days after the revised RTS 1 are published in the Official Journal are:
The thresholds referred to in the first two bullet points depend on the SMS, determined by the average value of transactions liquidity bands which has been recalibrated in the revised RTS 1. The day before the application date of the revised RTS 1, ESMA will publish the SMS for liquid equity and equity-like financial instruments.
The full list of new SMS will be available through FITRS in the XML and through the register web interface.
The remaining provisions in the revised RTS 1, including a new set of pre-trade transparency requirements and amended post-trade transparency requirements, will take effect on 2 March 2026.
The announcement can be accessed here.
New ESMA webpage for volume cap mechanism
On 9 October 2025, ESMA launched a new dedicated webpage for the volume cap mechanism (VCM). Under amendments to MiFIR (Article 5), the double VCM will be replaced by the single VCM from October 2025.
The last double VCM publication was in September 2025 and ESMA’s webpage for the double VCM has been discontinued. Since October 2025, the single VCM applies, and relevant data will be published on ESMA’s dedicated webpage.
The new webpage can be accessed here.
Second ESMA clarification on the application of the revised MiFID II / MiFIR rules
On 10 October 2025, ESMA published its second statement on the transition to the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) and MiFIR rules following their amendment pursuant to MiFID III/MiFIR II. The statement follows the first public statement on the transition for the application of the MiFID II/MiFIR review issued by ESMA on 27 March 2024.
ESMA’s second statement provides practical guidance to markets participants on the application of:
The statement does not address the revised transaction reporting requirements in Article 26 of MiFIR and related RTS (RTS 22) or the revised rules on order book data in Article 25 of MiFIR and related RTS (RTS 24). RTS 22 and RTS 24 are each mandated to be amended under revisions to Article 26 and Article 25 and EMSA consulted on proposed amendments in October 2024. ESMA has not published final draft RTS’ to date, and it is unlikely to do so given that RTS 24 and RTS 22 are included in the European Commission’s list of de-prioritised Level 2 measures.
EBA and ESMA recommend revisions to IFD/IFR
On 15 October 2025, in response to a ‘call for evidence’ from the European Commission on the Investment Firms Regulation (IFR) and Investment Firms Directive (IFD), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Securities Market Agency (ESMA) have issued their technical advice recommending targeted revisions to the IFR/IFD framework.
The EBA and ESMA propose limiting significant changes to the IFR/IFD framework, which has proven to be fit-for-purpose. The specific recommendations aim to:
The recommendations look at future proofing the IFR/IFD regime, in particular with reference to the interactions with UCITS/AIFMs, including the interaction with the own funds requirements applicable to AIFMs and UCITS management companies providing ancillary MiFID services, as well as remuneration and governance in relation to investment firms, AIFMs and UCITS management companies. Regarding the future proofing of the IFR/IFD regime, the advice notes that it is essential to identify regulatory loopholes that allow entities to conduct investment firm activities or provide investment firm services without being covered by the IFR/IFD.
The EBA and ESMA will submit the joint report to the European Commission.
The technical advice can be accessed here.
Final draft RTS to establish a code of conduct for issuer-sponsored research
On 22 October 2025, ESMA published its final report on draft RTS for establishing a code of conduct for issuer-sponsored research.
The aim of the code of conduct is to establish a label that assures all research designated as ‘issuer-sponsored research’ has been developed in accordance with a defined set of rules, particularly regarding the management of conflicts of interest. This is intended to enhance trust in issuer-sponsored research and to promote its production by issuers and its use by prospective investors.
While compliance with the code is not mandatory, investment firms that produce or distribute research to clients or potential clients that is partly or fully paid for by an issuer can only use the label “issuer-sponsored research” if the research complies with the code of conduct (otherwise the research must be labelled as a marketing communication). This is a requirement under paragraph 3b of Article 24.
The code outlines conditions under which investment firms may distribute research paid for by issuers using the ‘issuer-sponsored’ label, which include the following key provisions:
The RTS have been submitted to the European Commission for adoption, and the transposition date is 5 June 2026.
The final report can be accessed here.
Date published: 25 November 2025
This publication provides an overview of certain legal and regulatory developments that may be of interest to certain entities. It does not purport to provide analysis of law or legal advice and is strictly for information purposes only.