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MiFID II Update: Taping Rules for Financial Advisers

20th August 2015

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) due to take effect from 3rd January 2017, will require Financial Advisers to record certain telephone conversations and electronic communications and retain these records for five years. Should the need arise, a firm could then reply upon these records to help prove that a firm was acting in a client’s best interest.

However, last month the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) held a MiFID II Implementation roundtable at which it was decided that the ‘taping rules’ would not apply to recording client consultations in face-to-face meetings.












Additional details with regards to the taping rules are then set to follow in a FCA consultation paper this coming December.

The MiFID II roundtable minutes additionally said:

"The requirements on accessibility of the information and monitoring of calls were similar to those the FCA would expect under its existing taping rules and firms would be expected to respond in a reasonable timeframe to reasonable requests from clients for copies of tapes without a charge."

Additionally, back in March of this year, the FCA had expressed with regards to adopting the taping rules that "From a consumer protection perspective, introducing such standards across all firms, may improve their behaviours when conducting business".

"It will also enable us to assess firms' compliance with the conduct of business requirements, pursue enforcement cases for market abuse and support claims of non-compliance with our regulatory requirements," they continued.

"All of these factors may act as a deterrent for firms that fail to act in their client's best interests. It may also facilitate quicker and easier dispute resolution between firms and clients over terms of transactions and the provision of the service."

MiFID II is timetabled for implementation from 3rd January 2017.


MiFID II Taping Rules for Financial Advisers

Notes from the MiFID II Roundtable: Taping Rules

"Some detailed questions had been raised about the taping regime, including that the requirements raised data protection issues. The FCA said that the taping rules did not require the taping of face-to-face conversations."

FCA MiFID II Implementation Roundtable, 17 July 2015

Further MIFID II Reading: