Brussels, 17th January 2014
For immediate release
EFAMA heralds MiFID agreement but expresses disappointment with lack of level playing field across all financial products
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has welcomed the European Parliament, Council and European Commission informal agreement on the review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). The development means negotiations on the future of the European Financial Markets have finally been concluded after more than two years of intensive deliberations.
However, EFAMA is disappointed that insurance products have been omitted from the final agreement. And EFAMA believes that the failure to treat as equal all financial investment products means there will now be an absence of a level playing field.
EFAMA now urges the European Parliament and Council to immediately restart the stalled negotiations on the review of the Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD II) to ensure that end investors are ultimately afforded the same level of protection and transparency across the whole range of financial products.
Peter de Proft, Director General of EFAMA, commented:
"While we applaud the EU for having concluded its widest reform of the European financial markets since 2007, we are disappointed that not all financial products have been treated equally. We believe that it is the best interests of the investor that the same rules apply across the board. We therefore call on European co-legislators to use IMD II to rectify this and ensure that moving forward there is a level playing field for all."
Ends
For media enquiries, please contact:
Peter De Proft, Director General,
Telephone: +32 (0) 2 513 39 69;
E-mail: info@efama.org
Notes to editors:
About the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA):
EFAMA is the representative association for the European investment management industry. EFAMA represents through its 27 member associations and 62 corporate members about EUR 15 trillion in assets under management of which EUR 9.5 trillion managed by over 55,000 investment funds at end September 2013. Close to 35,500 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) funds. For more information about EFAMA, please visit www.efama.org
