Thomson Reuters relocates FX Multilateral Trading Facility to Dublin as a result of Brexit

Thomson Reuters headquarters

Thomson Reuters on Tuesday said it has commenced the process of applying to the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) for authorisation to operate its FX Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) from Dublin rather than London as a result of the UK’s planned departure from the European Union (Brexit) on 29 March 2019.

The Thomson Reuters MTF (which includes Forwards Matching and FXall RFQ) and Dealing are currently operated by Reuters Transaction Services Limited (RTSL), a Thomson Reuters company incorporated in England and Wales, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We expect that RTSL will not be able to continue to access the EU market after the Brexit date due to the anticipated termination of passporting rights into the EU. Therefore, by establishing a new legal entity in Ireland and seeking authorisation from the CBI, Thomson Reuters will be able to continue to sell and market regulated trading services into the Single Market.

A statement Tuesday by the orgainzation said:

“It is our intention to transfer all existing client relationships of the Thomson Reuters MTF and Dealing, as well as Fixed Income Callouts and Auctions, from RTSL to our new Irish legal entity ahead of the Brexit date. This will include all EU/UK clients as well as non-EU clients accessing these services, subject to regulatory permissions being granted in key jurisdictions outside the EU/UK.

“We will endeavor not to place any additional requirements or burdens on our clients, thus ensuring a full continuation of services without disruption. We do not envisage requiring existing MTF clients to undertake a new onboarding process to the Irish MTF because the data required for the MTF to meet its obligations under MiFID II have already been captured as part of the MTF onboarding process conducted in 2017. We may however seek additional consents where required by applicable laws and regulations. New subscribers to the platform will be required to complete the MTF onboarding process in line with our current processes and policies.

“Thomson Reuters Order Book, Mid Book, Price Stream and Spot Matching will remain in the U.K. In addition to the spot market, our post-trade services, namely Deal Tracker, Market Tracker, Settlement Center and Thomson Reuters Trade Notification (TRTN) will also continue to be provided by RTSL in the UK”.