European Parliament Adopts Revised MiFID Rules Regarding HFT and Position Limits

In the latest development in the reform of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ("MiFID"), members of the European Parliament have voted overwhelmingly in favor of additional amendments to the current draft proposals. Key measures approved by the Parliament include:

• ensuring that trading venues set out transparent rules for executing orders;
• stipulating that all high-speed transactions are valid for at least 500 milliseconds before they can be cancelled or modified; and
• imposing thresholds on commodity derivatives trading such as the maximum net position that traders can hold or enter into over certain periods.

Following this vote, three-way talks on the revised proposals will take place between the European Parliament, EU member states, and the European Commission.