(Jan 3): After seven years of preparation, US$2 billion ($2.7 billion) in compliance costs and one false start, the biggest shake-up to European regulation in a decade is finally here. With so much at stake, investors are likely to sit on their hands for now.

Trading volumes slumped ahead of the changes, according to two brokers with knowledge of the matter, with client business at one major brokerage in Europe almost non-existent as the rules were poised to take effect Wednesday.

The finance industry is bracing for one of the most seismic regulatory shifts in history, affecting everything from research to dark pools. There’s no official time for flicking the switch to the new rules, and brokerages were still meeting late Tuesday to discuss how to trade under MiFID II as companies race to comply with the law that provides as many opportunities as problems for banks and asset managers.

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