Wall Street Faces Fresh Fight Over MiFID II With SEC’s Gensler

Wall Street is headed for a fresh regulatory battle over how clients pay for investment research when a hard-fought reprieve from Europe’s tough MiFID II rules expires next month.

American securities firms shouldn’t count on the Securities and Exchange Commission extending temporary relief it previously granted to blunt the impact from European Union regulations, agency Chair Gary Gensler said Wednesday. The EU rules require that brokers charge clients separately for their analysis on stocks and bonds, a setup that industry executives warned would trigger fresh compliance costs in the US.

In the US, brokers generally can’t sell research without first ...