Fourniture de données de marché : l’AMF constate des insuffisances dans le respect des exigences à l’occasion d’une série de contrôles SPOT

In 2022, the AMF conducted a series of short thematic SPOT inspections targeting the provision of market data.
The inspections covered a sample group of four firms providing market data and covered the period from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2022. The main objective of these SPOT inspections was to ensure firms‘ compliance with the requirements relating to the provision of market data.
The inspection task force found significant shortcomings in the sample firms‘ compliance with the requirements for the provision of market data. The inspection task force identified several practices that may facilitate or complicate compliance with regulatory requirements.
Among the good practices identified, two firms provide their potential clients with a form on which they can specify the intended use of the market data so that they can determine the needs of potential clients as effectively as possible. In addition, one firm publishes market data price changes 120 days in advance of these changes, a full 30 days earlier than required by the regulations. One firm also publishes documents that make it easy to identify changes between different versions of the license agreements (tracked changes). Another firm had defined two use categories specific to retail clients, aimed at addressing the specific characteristics and constraints of these market participants. Lastly, two firms had aligned their market data policies and fee schedules with the terminology and definitions proposed in Annex I of the ESMA Guidelines.
However, the inspection task force found several instances of poor practice. For example, one of the firms provided a complex fee schedule that was not easy to understand and could lead to the excessive use of market data by some clients in relation to their activity. Furthermore, in the case of two firms, the granularity of the data disaggregation procedure, which excludes some of the trading venues operated by the regulated entity, could be insufficient.
The inspection task force also assessed the extent to which firms had taken steps to incorporate the clarifications provided by the ESMA Guidelines into their systems. In sum, nearly four years after MiFIR entered into force, the AMF has identified significant shortcomings in the sample firms‘ compliance with the requirements for the provision of market data.