Does “one-size-fits-all” bank regulation “fit” the energy sector?

Speaker: Alan Svoboda, Director for Sales and Trading

As a result of the financial crisis there has been a strong shift towards a stricter oversight of financial as well as commodity markets. In the past couple of months, the energy sector has seen a continued effort to include it in the legislation which was originally tailor-made for the financial sector.

On 20th October 2011 the European Commission published its draft of MiFID II – Markets in financial instruments Directive. This legislation has a huge potential to change the environment for the energy business and it is important to ask ourselves:

• Does “one-size-fits-all” bank regulation “fit” the energy sector? 
• And what would be the consequences if not? 
• How damaging can it be for energy markets? 
• Is this legislation compatible with the internal liberalised energy market?