Notifications to the FIN-FSA

Notification of algorithmic trading

An investment service provider engaged in algorithmic trading must give notification of its trading

  1. to the authority of its home state, i.e. Finnish companies notify Finanssivalvonta (the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority) and
  2. to the financial supervisory authority of the state in which the trading venue where the company engages in trading is located i.e. companies trading in Nasdaq Helsinki’s Main Market and/or First North Finland notify Finanssivalvonta.

Notifications to Finanssivalvonta shall be sent in a free-form message to the address MiFIDilmoitukset@fiva.fi.

  • The subject of the message should be: Notification of algorithmic trading [company’s name]
  • The message must state the trading venue where the company engages in algorithmic trading and the home state of the said trading venue
  • The message should state if the trading is high frequency trading1
  • The message must state the name of a contact person and his or her contact information.

Notification of providing direct electronic access (DEA)

An entity providing direct electronic access must give notification of this

1. to the authority of its home state, i.e. Finnish companies notify Finanssivalvonta (the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority) and
2. to the securities market authority of the state in which the trading venue where the company engages in trading is located i.e. companies trading in Nasdaq Helsinki’s Main Market and/or First North Finland notify Finanssivalvonta.

Notifications to Finanssivalvonta shall be sent in a free-form message to the address MiFIDilmoitukset@fiva.fi.

  • The subject of the message should be: Notification of providing direct electronic access [company’s name]
  • The message must state the trading venue where the company provides direct electronic access, the home state of the said trading venue, and the actors to whom direct electronic access is pro-vided
  • The message must state the name of a contact person and his or her contact information.

Notification by an entity trading in commodity derivatives, emission allowances or their derivatives concerning the application of the ancillary activity exemption

Due to an amendment to the Investment Services Act that enters into force on 28 February 2022, a company trading only in commodity derivatives, emission allowances or their derivatives will no longer need to notify the FIN-FSA annually that it does not need an investment firm’s authorisation based on the ancillary activity exemption. A company must, however, at the request of the FIN-FSA, continue to disclose the criteria by which it has established its trading to be ancillary. The criteria are set out in chapter 1, section 2, subsection 1(4) of the Investment Services Act and in the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1833. Whereas, before the amendment, notifications concerning the application of the ancillary activity exemption had to be made annually by 1 April, notifications will no longer be required in 2022.

 

1For a definition of high-frequency trading, please refer to MiFID II, Article 4.1 (40) and Delegated Regulation 2017/565, Article 19. See also ESMA's Q&As.