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8th January 2025

ESMA Q&A - MiFIR

ESMA has recently updated its Q&A tool, making it interactive and searchable.

To help make finding answers to MiFIR questions as efficient as possible, we've curated relevant questions and answers, making them easy to find in a table below.

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We'll continue to update the table as and when new questions and answers are made available.

TopicLinkQuestionCN Subject MatterStatus
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_632What ISO 3166-1 country code should trading venues and investment firms use to identify stateless natural persons for the purposes of transaction reports?National identifier for stateless natural personsAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_751Field 14 “Delivery/cash settlement location” in Table 2 of Annex IV of RTS 2 (transparency reference data), as amended by [Amending Regulation RTS 2], should be populated with a standard code (Energy Identification Code – “EIC”) for electricity and gas contracts. How should Field 14 “Delivery/cash settlement location” for electricity and gas contracts be reported for a) cash settled contracts; b) contracts for which an EIC is not available?Settlement locationAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1510How are different national identifiers specified in Annex II of RTS 22 represented?National client identifiersAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1511Consider a scenario where an Investment Firm A executes a reportable transaction through an execution algorithm provided by another Investment Firm B. a) How should field 59 (Execution within firm) of RTS 22 be reported when Investment Firm A uses the execution algorithm provided by Investment Firm B? b) Would Investment Firm A’s reporting differ if Firm B was not a MiFID II Investment Firm and therefore did not have the obligation to report this transaction under Art. 26 MiFIR? c) Where Investment Firm B is using Investment Firm A’s membership to access the market, is Investment Firm B executing the transaction and does Investment Firm B have to transaction report?Transaction reporting through an execution algorithmAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1702Where the price of a transaction is not available at the time of execution (e.g. the NAV for certain ETFs), how can investment firms fulfil their post-trade transparency obligations under Articles 20 and 21 of MiFIR and their transaction reporting obligations under Article 26 of MiFIR for those transactions?Price of transaction is not available at time of executionAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1703Could there be circumstances where the buyer and seller in a transaction report made under Article 26 of MiFIR are the same?Buyer and seller are the sameAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1704How shall Field 30 (Quantity) in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/590 Annex I Table 2 be reported for a transaction where there have previously been acquisitions or disposals that are excluded from the meaning of a transaction? For example, a decrease in notional amount in a financial instrument which has previously had pre-determined contractual down payments exempted from transaction reporting under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/590 Article 2(5)(j)?Field 30 - QuantityAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1705In the case of a transaction on an OTC derivative contract (MIC code-field 36 = “XXXX”. These are all derivatives falling under MiFIR Article 26(2)(b) and (c).), what is expected in the transaction report when any of the following characteristics of that contract is changed: fields 50 to 56 of annex 2 of CDR 2017/590?Transaction reporting where contract characteristics are changedAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1706Consider a scenario where an investment firm (Bank B) executes a reportable transaction under a discretionary mandate for a Client A (portfolio management). a) Does the Client A also have an obligation to report this transaction under Art. 26 MiFIR? b) Does the Client A also have an obligation to report this transaction under Art. 26 MiFIR when a fund management company that is not a MiFID II investment firm (Firm Z) is interposing between client and Bank B?Discretionary mandateAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1707How should transactions be transaction reported where portfolio management has been outsourced?Outsourced portfolio managementAnswered
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1708(a) What are the reporting obligations for a typical primary issuance (IPO)? (b) How should field 28 (Trading date time) be populated in this scenario? (c) How should field 59 (Execution within the firm) be populated in this scenario? (d) What would transaction reporting look like for a typical equity IPO example?Primary issuance occurrences (IPO)Answer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1709(a) When are corporate events reportable? (b) Are corporate events resulting from a default option reportable? (c) Is an event still reportable where the investor has given a standing instruction? (d) What is meant by the investor not making an investment decision at the point in time of the creation, expiration or redemption of the financial instrument in article 2(5)(i) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/590? (e) Are lapsed rights reportable? (f) How should corporate events be reported? (g) How should field 59 (Execution within the firm) be populated for corporate events?Corporate eventsAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1710Are both legs of a swap reportable, when one leg contains an index such as LIBOR or EURIBOR?Swap reporting with an indexAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1711(a) Where there is more than one level of underlying instrument which should be considered when determining whether an instrument is in scope for reporting under article 26(2)(b) and (c) of MIFIR? (b) Does the concept of an underlying for the purposes of Article 26(2)(b) or (c) of MiFIR extend to investments in a collective investment undertaking or an exchange traded fund? (c) What is the implication of Answer (b)? (d) Does the concept of underlying extend to the instruments on which ADRs, GDRs are based for the purposes of Article 26(2)(b) of MIFIR ? (e) What is the implication of Answer (d)? (f) Does the concept of an underlying for the purposes of Article 26(2)(b) of MiFIR extend to convertible bonds, reverse convertible bonds and reverse convertible notes? (g) What is the implication of Answer (f)? (h) Does the concept of an underlying for the purposes of Article 26(2)(b) or (c) of MiFIR extend to warrants? (i) What are the implications of Answer (h)?UnderlyingAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_1712Are transactions executed through non-EU branches of EU investment firms subject to transaction reporting under Article 26 of MiFIR?Transactions executed through non-EU branches of EU investment firmsAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_2204(a) How should accumulators - i.e. derivative contracts whereby the buyer commits to buy a predefined number of underlying financial instruments at a predefined price, per day, over a certain “accumulation” period - be classified? (b) Should the IF report the single transactions executed when settling the accumulator contract? (c) Should the IF report the transactions concluded with third parties to secure the financial instruments to be sold to the accumulator’s buyer? (d) How should the accumulator contract be reported?Accumulator contractsAnswer published
Transaction reportingESMA_QA_603Does the concept of an underlying for the purposes of Article 26(2)(b) of MiFIR extend to convertible bonds, reverse convertible bonds and reverse convertible notes?UnderlyingQuestion published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1671In case the Issuer LEI code is missing but the Ultimate Parent Code LEI is available, can the latter one be used at least for a to-be-specified grace period?LEI of the issuerAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1690How should transactions on “inflation indexed bonds” be reported under RTS 22?Inflation Indexed bondAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1692How shall Field 30 (Quantity) in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/590 Annex I Table 2 be reported for a transaction where there have previously been acquisitions or disposals that are excluded from the meaning of a transaction? For example, a decrease in notional amount in a financial instrument which has previously had pre-determined contractual down payments exempted from transaction reporting under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/590 Article 2(5)(j)?Field 30 - QuantityAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1694(a) How to complete reference data and transaction reports for financial instruments with a fixed rate that is a volatile attribute.
(b) How to complete reference data and transaction reports for financial instruments with a strike price that is a volatile attribute.
Financial instruments' volatile attributesAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1695How should a transaction in an FX swap admitted to trading on a trading venue or traded on a trading venue be reported under Article 26 and Article 27 of MiFIR?FX swaps reportingAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1696What is the relationship between the interest rate term of the interest rate swap contract (tenor) field 4133 and expiry date and the ISIN?Interest rate swaps reportingAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1697How should a transaction in an interest rate swap admitted to trading on a trading venue or traded on a trading venue be reported under Article 26 and Article 27 of MiFIR?Interest rate swaps reportingAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1698How should a transaction carried out on a trading venue on a FX forward be reported under Article 26 and Article 27 of MiFIR?FX forward reportingAnswer published
ESMA70-1861941480-56 Questions and Answers on MiFIR reportingESMA_QA_1699a) Does a complex trade as defined under Article 12 of RTS 22 need to have a single price available for the transaction? b) If there are prices available for the components of a complex trade does it mean that it is not a complex trade? c) How should the TVTIC (field 3 of RTS 22) be populated in transaction reports of a complex trade? d) How should a complex trade be transaction reported under article 26 of MiFIR where the components contain reportable and non-reportable financial instruments? e) If a component instrument or a complex trade (e.g. strategy) has an ISIN, does it make it reportable under article 26 of MIFIR? f) How should a complex trade (e.g. a strategy or other instrument where a transaction in the instrument is a complex trade) be reported in the instrument reference data under article 27 of MiFIR and article 4 of MAR? g) For an instrument where a transaction is a complex trade (for example a strategy) should a component of the instrument be reported in the instrument reference data under article 27 of MIFIR and article 4 of MAR if it is not admitted to trading or traded on a trading venue?Complex tradesAnswer published
Instrument Reference dataESMA_QA_1505Following the creation of new risk-free rates, it is important to clarify how: (a) Trading Venues and SIs should report financial instruments based on this rate under RTS 23; (b) MiFID investment firms should report this rate in transaction reports where the reference data fields have to be reported under RTS 22; and (c) How other reference rates should be reported that are not explicitly included in RTS 23 and RTS 22. (d) Are voluntary switch to risk-free rates considered reportable transactions under MiFIR Article 26? (e) In case a financial instrument with a fallback rate is assigned a new ISIN, should reporting entities populate Field 1 with the new ISIN under RTS23?Reporting of reference rates not included in RTS 23 and 22Answer published
Non-equity transparencyESMA_QA_1561What types of derivatives can benefit from the pre-trade transparency waiver provided under Article 9(1)(c) of MiFIR?Scope of Article 9(1)(c) of MiFIRPublished answer updated