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* The European financial sector is bracing itself for the implementation of the EU's revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID II, which comes into force tomorrow, according to the Financial Times. Financial firms are preparing for any potential trading glitches, as the new rules require a major upgrade of their IT systems, while many firms and EU states are still not yet fully prepared for the implementation.
* ECB Executive Board member Benoît Coeuré said there is a "reasonable chance" that the ECB's [euro]2.55 trillion asset-purchase program will not be extended again when it expires in September, Reuters reported, citing Chinese magazine Caixin Global.
* The heads of some of the biggest lenders in Europe and their regulators see the need for consolidation in the banking sector, the Financial Times reported. Société Générale SA CEO Frédéric Oudéa said he expects cross-border deals in Europe "in the longer term," once the eurozone banking union is completed and more banks have automated operations.
UK AND IRELAND
* Charles Randell, a member of the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Committee, is in discussions to succeed John Griffith-Jones as chairman of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, insiders told Sky News.
* U.K. peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle is preparing to hire advisers over the next few months to manage its London flotation valued at more than £1 billion, with a potential listing expected as early as the late autumn, according to Sky News.
* London Stock Exchange Group Plc said 106 companies floated on its markets in 2017, raising £15 billion, up 63% by...