Revocation of retained EU law Transitional amendments Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) Share Trading Obligation (STO)
One of the regulatory changes introduced by the MiFID II framework to the regulatory regime established by MiFID was the introduction of a new requirement known as the Share Trading Obligation (STO), which sits at Article 23 MiFIR. Under the STO, no investment firm may execute a trade in shares admitted to trading on a UK RM, or traded on a UK trading venue, unless that trade takes place on a UK RM, MTF, or systematic internaliser, or an equivalent third-country trading venue.
	Under Part 7 (regulations 197 – 205) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, 8 each of the FCA, PRA and Bank of England has a power (the Temporary Transitional Power, or TTP) to make transitional directions to waive or modify obligations imposed on persons where the nature of the obligation has been altered by the exercise of section 8 of EUWA 2018. In December 2020 the FCA exercised its TTP power to modify the requirements imposed on investment firms by the STO : its transitional direction provided that investment firms could trade in shares subject to the STO on or through EU trading venues and systematic internalisers.
	The Act permanently removes the STO.