Financial services industry think-tank JWG-IT has warned that the upcoming Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) will have a profound impact on the industry. 

Consultations on MiFID began in April 2004 and the rules will replace the existing Investment Services Directive. 

The finalised MiFID is set to be rolled out in November of this year with the aim of creating a single European securities standard for all financial instruments.

Among the 73 articles and 71 recitals are new pre- and post-trade transparency requirements for equity markets, and more extensive transaction reporting requirements.

Companies must be able to fully reconstitute not just transaction data, but the full progress of any transaction for five years or for the duration of the relationship, which for transactions such as mortgages can be very long indeed.

Research suggests that the cost of MiFID implementation is set to surpass £1bn in the UK alone, and that a typical UK investment bank will spend upward of £10m.

However, P J Di Giammarino, chief executive at JWG-IT, said that it will be three to four years until the changes are fully realised and that different member countries will complete the transition at different stages.

Phil Higgins managing director of network security company BrookCourt Solutions, said: "MiFID implementation is going to involve the coordination of resources of many departments in investment firms. 

"Those who get it right will gain competitive advantage. Those who get it wrong risk litigation from customers, fines from regulators and tarnished reputations.

"For the majority of firms, the challenge of storing and securing the vast amounts of information required by MiFID needs to be addressed immediately if they are to be ready for the 1 November deadline."