ESMA issued a public statement yesterday recognising that there is just not enough time to review all the pre-trade transparency waivers and position limits before MiFID II comes into force on 3rd January.

Rather than create an impasse they have, thankfully, opted for a pragmatic approach to get things moving along. To smooth the path, in the absence of an ESMA opinion, the national competent authorities (NCAs) can proceed for now based on their own assessment. Interesting, I think, in the context of the recent Commission review of the operation of the ESAs (European Supervisory Authorities) and ESMA's response in support of more centralised regulatory supervision. Could this mean potential for more bottlenecks ahead?