Bats gets MiFID II-ready with software update

Third of four planned software updates adds new FIX functionality and transparency capabilities.

Bats Europe has rolled out new software for its exchange as part of preparations for MiFID II.

The new software, its penultimate release before MiFID II comes into force in January 2018, will enable firms to test and ready their systems. It was deployed on Friday 14 July.

Bats said the release will provide support for MMTv3 (market model typology) on its data feeds and trade reporting, improving quality of post-trade data and transparency. FIX tags will also be updated for the order record keeping requirement. This will provide order capacity and liquidity provision designations and algo identification.

Order detail will also be enhanced, including a new waiver-type indicator and FIX timestamps in microseconds.

David Howson, chief operating officer of Bats Europe, said: “We know that the preparation for legislation of this size requires careful, long-term planning and we’ve dedicated significant resources to successfully implement our plan.

“One of our top priorities is to be ready early to allow our customers plenty of time to prepare for MiFID II with confidence. This latest release has all of the major components required for Bats Europe participants to be ready to interact with the exchange under MiFID II.”

This release marks the third of four planned updates to get the exchange ready for MiFID II, with the fourth and final release due in October 2017. The last part of the project will incorporate trade-flagging capabilities and allow third countries to supply trade reporting information.

Previous additions include enhancing market data feeds, double volume cap implementation and order record-keeping capability.

«