MiFID II and the Swiss financial sector: Part I

Back in 2008 the global financial crisis, which is considered the most serious after the Great Depression in the 1930s, shocked the financial world, followed by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The collapse of further large financial institutions was prevented by the bailouts of national governments, who realised that it was necessary to prevent the collapse of the world’s economy. What followed was a series of amendments to the existing regulations and the restructuring of financial market regulations in the EU. One such amendment was the review of the existing Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID I) and the drafting of MiFID II, which is considered to be the centrepiece of EU capital markets regulation. The aims of the amendment were improved investor protection and increased transparency.