ESMA Issues Updated MiFID II Transparency Guidance Covering OTC Derivatives

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU regulator and supervisor, on 15 October 2026 updated its manual on pre-trade and post-trade transparency under MiFID II and MiFIR, adding guidance on the identification of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives subject to transparency requirements and on the application of the tick-size regime.

In its announcement, ESMA said the update provides further guidance on the identification of OTC derivatives subject to transparency requirements and is intended to enhance supervisory convergence on the application of the tick-size regime. The regulator said the update also clarifies how the identifying reference data for OTC derivatives should be provided for transparency purposes, supporting greater consistency in the data reported to and published through the consolidated tape.

According to the announcement, the manual also incorporates several published Q&As on the tick size regime and adds recommendations on the application of the tick-size regime, comprising when trading venues and national competent authorities may intervene in specific circumstances.

Changes Recorded for 15 October 2026

The updated document, reference ESMA74-2134169708-6870, is classified in ESMA’s Trading section, and its summary table of updates records the following changes dated 15 October 2026.

ESMA removed guidance on the transactions to be reported to the Financial Instruments Transparency System (FITRS) for the purpose of the transparency calculations, in section 5.5.2 on the type of transactions subject to post-trade transparency, covering Table 98.

ESMA introduced old and new Q&As on the tick size regime in section 5.4.2.6, the manual’s guidance on equity and equity-like transparency calculations strictu sensu, covering Table 86. A footnote to the summary table states that old Q&As appear in red and that new Q&As or amendments to old Q&As appear in red highlighted in yellow.

ESMA clarified the identifying reference data for OTC derivatives in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1003, spanning section 4.2.1.2.1 on the common fields of Table 2 of Annex II of RTS 2, section 7.1.3 on regulatory data for the OTC derivatives consolidated tape provider (CTP) and section 7.2.4 on core market data for the post-trade OTC derivatives CTP. The clarification updated Table 13 and added Tables 13a, 106a and 111a.

Legal Status and Regulatory Background

ESMA publishes the manual under Article 29(2) of the ESMA Regulation, which allows the authority to develop new practical instruments and convergence tools to promote common supervisory approaches and practices. The manual describes itself as a soft-law Level 3 tool similar to Q&As and states that it does not intend to provide EU law interpretation and contains no supervisory elements. It also states that its content is not exhaustive and that ESMA will periodically review and update it where required.

The document consolidates guidance on post-trade transparency for equity and non-equity instruments in section 4, the transparency calculations for equity and non-equity instruments in section 5, pre-trade transparency for equity instruments in section 6 and the input and output data reported to and transmitted by the CTP in section 7. It incorporates responses to questions posed by the general public, market participants and competent authorities on the practical application of MiFID II and MiFIR.

MiFID II and MiFIR were approved by the European Parliament on 15 April 2014 and by the European Council on 13 May 2014, entered into force on 2 July 2014 and have been applicable, together with the related Level 2 measures, since 3 January 2018. Articles 6 and 20 of MiFIR set post-trade transparency requirements for shares, depositary receipts, exchange-traded funds, certificates and other similar financial instruments, while Articles 10 and 21 of MiFIR set them for bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances and derivatives. The reviewed texts agreed by the co-legislators in 2023 entered into force on 28 March 2024.

ESMA first published the manual on 10 July 2023 and previously updated it on 8 January 2024, 14 October 2024, 10 October 2025, 19 December 2025 and 12 May 2026. The October 2024 update reflected the changes in the revised MiFID II and MiFIR that were not affected by Level 2 measures. The October 2025 update reflected amendments to RTS 1 and RTS 2 following ESMA’s December 2024 final reports on the review of those standards and added the pre-trade transparency and CTP sections.

In the section on transparency calculations, last updated on 10 October 2025, the manual states that FITRS, the system ESMA developed to collect and process data and publish the results of the transparency calculations, will be progressively discontinued in favour of transaction reporting data collected under Article 26 of MiFIR. It states that the collection of quantitative data for the purpose of the equity and equity-like transparency calculations will be discontinued from 1 January 2026, and that the bond calculations will be discontinued from the 2 March 2026 application date of RTS 2 because the new framework does not provide for a quarterly assessment. Derivatives calculations will continue to be performed pending the adoption of RTS 2 provisions covering derivatives and are planned to be discontinued once the amended provisions of RTS 2 covering derivatives start applying, the manual states. It adds that the double volume cap calculations will be discontinued in October 2025 with the first publication of the single volume cap results.

The announcement adds that the guidance on OTC identifying reference data should be considered a draft until the entry into force of the related technical standards, RTS 2 and the RTS on CTP input and output data.