FCA MDP Data: What the Regulator Sees and Why Firms Should Be Checking It
Key Takeaways
- The FCA MDP Entity Portal gives firms access to transaction reporting data submitted under Article 26 of UK MiFIR, allowing them to review the data held by the regulator.
- Firms are expected to regularly request FCA transaction reporting extracts and reconcile them against front-office records to identify errors and omissions.
- The FCA has contacted firms that were not making regular MDP extract requests, including firms relying solely on ARM-provided extracts.
- FCA MDP extracts are delivered in XML, which is suitable for structured processing but can be difficult to review and compare manually in day-to-day compliance workflows. The FCA publishes the XML schema used for these extracts.
- Qomply’s MDP XML to CSV Converter makes the extract easier to analyse in Excel, helping firms investigate missing transactions, unexpected reports and field-level discrepancies.
The FCA's MDP entity portal allows firms to extract the transaction reporting data the regulator holds against their name. This is exactly what the regulator received under Article 26 of MiFIR, not what internal systems believe was sent.
For firms, this remains the only authoritative view of their own reporting.
Why The Portal Matters
The FCA tracks how firms use the portal.
Market Watch 70 published figures on the number of firms accessing the portal to make extract requests; with Market Watch 74, the FCA went further, confirming it had identified and contacted firms that were not making regular requests. Some were unaware the portal existed; others were relying instead only on extracts provided by their ARM.
The FCA has said it identifies firms that aren't making regular requests, so a pattern of inactivity is something firms should expect to be followed up on.
The XML Problem
The portal returns transaction reporting extracts in XML, built to the FCA's published schema.
XML is well specified for structured data and machine processing, less so for human analysis. It is considerably less practical for manual review, the nested format makes it difficult to inspect individual records, filter on specific values and compare MiFID fields as opposed to typical spreadsheets.
This often leaves firms lacking a straightforward way to analyse their MDP extracts.
Making MDP Data Usable
Qomply's free MDP Converter transforms the FCA XML output into a spreadsheet-ready CSV file.
The converted file can be opened in Excel and used to review, filter and compare the FCA data against ARM and front-office records. This provides a practical starting point for investigating missing transactions, unexpected reports, field-level differences and unresolved submission issues.
Converting the file does not resolve the underlying issues. It removes the technical barrier to working with the MDP output and allows firms to focus on identifying and resolving them.
Get Free Access to Qomply’s MDP Converter
Try Qomply’s MDP XML to CSV Converter and make your MDP data easier to review and analyse.
Free accounts can process up to 5 rows per file upload (so a 500,000-row file will still only return 5 processed rows) and up to 100 rows per company overall.
This is enough to see how the conversion works and test it against your own data. Firms wanting full-scale processing can contact Qomply to arrange expanded access.
How Qomply can help
Qomply helps financial firms achieve accurate, compliant transaction reporting across global regulatory regimes, while streamlining the operational and audit demands of regulatory reporting.
Our proprietary technology combines AI, automation and advanced data analytics to deliver scalable, audit-ready reporting intelligence. Through forensic-level quality assurance and streamlined reconciliation, Qomply helps firms strengthen data quality and reporting accuracy, automate controls, simplify audit processes and lower overall reporting costs.
Our technology provides greater oversight and operational efficiency while reducing the demands on internal teams.
For firms seeking to outsource their regulatory reporting operations, Qomply also offers a fully managed service. Combining our technology with deep regulatory expertise, Qomply Managed Services operates as an extension of, or alternative to, an in-house reporting function. This flexible model enables firms to outsource reporting operations while retaining the option to bring activities in-house as their own capabilities and resources evolve.
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Frequently asked questions
The FCA Market Data Processor (MDP) Entity Portal allows investment firms to request extracts of transaction reporting data submitted under Article 26 of UK MiFIR. Firms can use these extracts to compare the FCA’s data against their own front-office trading records and identify potential errors or omissions.
Regular MDP extracts allow firms to check whether the transaction reporting data held by the FCA matches their internal records. The FCA states that firms should reconcile these extracts against front-office records, and Market Watch 74 confirmed that the FCA contacted firms that had not been making regular extract requests.
Firms should not rely solely on ARM-provided extracts for their FCA reconciliation. In Market Watch 74, the FCA noted that some firms were relying on ARM extracts and reiterated that firms are required to reconcile front-office records against data samples supplied by the FCA.
FCA MDP transaction reporting extracts are generated as XML files using the FCA’s published transaction report data extract schema. XML is designed for structured data processing but can be less convenient for manual filtering, comparison and investigation than spreadsheet formats such as CSV.
Qomply’s free MDP XML to CSV Converter transforms FCA MDP XML extracts into spreadsheet-ready CSV files. Firms can then open the data in Excel to filter records, compare reporting fields and investigate discrepancies against ARM or front-office data.
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