EU · MiFIR · TITLE II TRANSPARENCY FOR TRADING VENUES · CHAPTER 2 Transparency for non-equity instruments
Article 9 MiFIRWaivers for bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances, derivatives and package orders
Lets competent authorities waive pre-trade transparency for bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances, derivatives and package orders for large-in-scale orders and orders held in an order management facility, illiquid instruments (including OTC derivatives not subject to the trading obligation), exchange-for-physical orders and certain package orders, as revised by the 2024 review. Waivers require four months' notice to ESMA and an ESMA opinion, can be withdrawn if misused, and authorities may suspend transparency when liquidity falls.
Amendments and application dates
| Amending act | Change | Applies from |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) 2016/1033 | Text inserted | 1 Jul 2016 |
| Regulation (EU) 2024/791 | Text amended; Text deleted; Text inserted | 28 Mar 2024 |
Level 2: delegated and implementing acts
- RTSIn forceLegal basis
AI summaryAmends RTS 2 (2017/583) and RTS 1 (2017/587) after the 2024 MiFIR review: removes request-for-quote and voice trading systems from non-equity pre-trade transparency, defines central limit order books and periodic auction systems, keeps some provisions for derivatives during the transition, and updates large-in-scale and other transparency rules for bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances and equity instruments. Parts apply from 2 March 2026.
- RTSIn forceLegal basis
AI summaryAmends RTS 2 (2017/583) on non-equity transparency: aligns the treatment of non-price forming transactions with RTS 22 to make post-trade publication consistent, and updates publication timing and other provisions to reflect faster publication now possible. Most changes apply from 1 January 2024.
- RTSIn forceLegal basis
AI summaryAmends RTS 2 (2017/583) to move bonds to stage S3 of the transparency phase-in, both for the average daily number of trades used to determine liquid bonds and for the trade percentile used to set the pre-trade size specific to the instrument, increasing the number of bonds subject to pre-trade transparency.
- RTSIn forceLegal basis
AI summaryAmends RTS 2 (2017/583) to move bonds to stage S2 of the transparency phase-in, both for the average daily number of trades used to determine liquid bonds and for the trade percentile used to set the pre-trade size specific to the instrument, so more bonds are subject to pre-trade transparency.
- Delegated actIn forceLegal basis
AI summarySets the criteria under MiFIR for a package order to have a liquid market as a whole for pre-trade transparency purposes: only packages whose components all come from one derivative asset class (interest rate, equity, credit or commodity) and are available for trading on a venue can qualify, subject to conditions on component liquidity, large-in-scale size and number, and asset-class specific criteria.
- RTSIn forceLegal basis
AI summaryRTS 2 on transparency for bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances and derivatives: sets pre-trade transparency by trading system type, large-in-scale and size-specific-to-the-instrument thresholds, order management facility sizes, the liquidity assessment of each instrument class, and post-trade publication content and deferral regimes. Amended several times, notably by Delegated Regulations 2021/529, 2022/629, 2023/945 and 2025/1246.
Level 3: ESMA Q&As, guidelines and opinions
- Q&AAnsweredESMA rulebook
AI summaryThe large-in-scale waiver continues to cover an order that was LIS when entered but falls below the threshold after partial execution in the same waived facility, for both equity and non-equity instruments; it ends if the price or other conditions are changed or execution moves to another facility of the venue.
- Q&AAnsweredESMA rulebook
AI summaryNegotiated or pre-arranged transactions in non-equity instruments may be formalised on a trading venue under the Article 9(1) MiFIR waivers (LIS, illiquid instruments, EFP and package orders, but not the order management facility waiver); for derivatives subject to the trading obligation only the LIS and package order waivers are available, and venues must monitor such trades for market abuse and disorderly trading.
- Q&AAnsweredESMA rulebook
AI summaryThe pre-trade transparency waiver in Article 9(1)(c) MiFIR covers OTC derivatives under Article 8a(2) that are not subject to the trading obligation and have no liquid market, and other derivatives for which there is no liquid market.
- Q&AAnsweredESMA rulebook
AI summaryThe pre-trade waiver for illiquid non-equity instruments under Article 9(1)(c) MiFIR is applied for by venues and granted by asset class (as categorised in Annex III of RTS 2), after an ESMA opinion, not instrument by instrument; all illiquid instruments in that class, including later ones, benefit.
- Q&AAwaiting answerInferred · 70%
AI summaryAsks whether cross orders in liquid non-equity instruments below the large-in-scale threshold may be executed on a trading venue. The question has been published but not yet answered.
- Q&AAnsweredInferred · 85%
AI summaryThe minimum size of orders held in an order management facility for non-equity instruments under Article 4(2)(a) of RTS 2 is calculated using Table 4 of Annex II of RTS 2, except that the notional amount of traded contracts is used for emission allowances and their derivatives.
- Q&AAnsweredInferred · 85%
AI summaryAlthough the liquidity test for temporarily suspending non-equity transparency (Article 16 RTS 2) is calculated at EU level, each competent authority decides whether to activate the suspension in its own jurisdiction, independently of the others.
- Q&AAnsweredInferred · 85%
AI summaryFor the temporary suspension of bond transparency under Articles 9(4) and 11(2) MiFIR, which operates by class, the 'classes of bonds' are those defined in Table 2.2 of Annex III of RTS 2.
- OpinionPublishedESMA rulebook
AI summaryESMA opinion of 16 October 2024 (ESMA70-155-6641) summarising the positions behind its opinions on national authorities' pre-trade transparency waivers under Articles 4 and 9 MiFIR, such as reference price, negotiated transaction, large-in-scale and order management facility waivers and how different trading systems qualify; it adds no new guidance and also covers the treatment of subscription rights.
- Q&ALegacy Q&A documentESMA rulebook
AI summaryESMA's consolidated legacy Q&A document on MiFID II and MiFIR transparency (final version 27 October 2023, printed with the reference ESMA70-1562901-35), covering equity and non-equity transparency, pre-trade waivers, the double volume cap, the systematic internaliser regime, data reporting services providers and third-country issues. It is no longer updated; later Q&As are in ESMA's Q&A tool.
Commentary
No law-firm commentary is linked to this provision yet.
219 more documents relate to MiFIR as a whole without naming an article.
UK counterpart
- Article 9 UK MiFIR · Article 8: waivers or suspensions for fixed income instruments and derivatives etc
Revocation enacted by Financial Services and Markets Act 2023; no commencement date yet.
DivergedExplicit referenceEU changes after exit: Regulation (EU) 2024/791 (from 28 Mar 2024). UK changes after onshoring: Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (by 1 Dec 2024). UK revocation enacted (Financial Services and Markets Act 2023), not yet commenced.
- Explicit reference
The Handbook source note on this provision cites the article.
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Version history
- From 28 Mar 2024
- From 1 Jul 2016 to 28 Mar 2024
- From 2 Jul 2014 to 1 Jul 2016
Each entry is a consolidated version of the act on EUR-Lex in which this provision appears. The text itself is on the official site.