MiFID Country Fields (Fields 37, 8, 17, 58, 60): Avoid Common Reporting Pitfalls
Key Takeaways
- Field-Name Confusion: The article shows country fields are frequently misreported because labels imply concepts that differ from the actual RTS 22 requirement.
- Branch-Membership Rule: Field 37 depends on venue membership and still requires a head-office country code where no branch was involved in execution.
- Client-Side Limitation: Fields 8 and 17 apply to the branch receiving the client's order, not to the buyer or seller's nationality or corporate domicile.
- Conditional Population: Fields 58 and 60 depend on whether the decision-maker or executor is a natural person rather than an algorithm or NORE value.
- Historic Exposure: Rejection statistics on Field 37 imply many firms may still face errors-and-omissions remediation for past country-field mistakes today.
Common Pitfalls
MiFID transaction reporting contains multiple country fields that are commonly misinterpreted. This guide explains how to populate the most error-prone fields, including Field 37 (Country of Branch Membership), Fields 8 and 17 (branch receiving the order), Field 58 (investment decision), and Field 60 (execution supervision), with practical rules for when fields must be completed or left blank.
The country fields in MiFID II transaction reports are the cause of much confusion for market participants. Opaque naming of fields and certain peculiarities in conventions increase the risk of misreporting.
Country of the Branch Membership (Field 37)
This field has been one of the most problematic for firms. The FCA released statistics suggesting that it is amongst the top 10 reporting errors made by firms.
In 2018, nearly 7pct of reports were rejected due to the Country of the Branch Membership not being populated. In 2019, that figure halved to 3.72pct, and in 2020 it reduced significantly to 0.41 pct only to uptick slightly in 2021 to 1.62pct of reports being flagged with this error. This indicates that many firms will be submitting errors and omissions for historic errors. Therefore, it is important to get this field right.
For transactions executed on a trading venue or a third-country organised trading platform, the Country of Branch Membership field identifies the country of the branch of the investment firm whose membership was used to execute the transaction on the venue. Even if no branch is used (e.g. a head office is the member of the venue), you are still required to fill in this field and should use the country code of the head office or registered office.
This field is left blank for transactions executed by an SI (Systematic Internaliser) or transactions occurring OTC.
It is also important to note that even if a transaction was agreed to be executed off-book but under the rules of a trading venue, the trade is still deemed to have been executed on the trading venue. In this case, the Country of Branch Membership will be required where the executing entity is a member.
Country of the Branch for the Buyer/Seller (Fields 8 and 17 Respectively)
The first of the oddly named fields. Despite what the name may imply, this field should be populated with the country of the branch that received the order, not the nationality of the buyer or seller.
The field is applicable to the client-side of a transaction.
The definition of client is also important to bear in mind, you do not need to fill in these country fields if the buyer/seller is a CCP, broker or your own firm as none of these would be considered your client. Also, an aggregated order (INTC) is not a client therefore the field should be left blank.
For transmitted orders falling under Article 4 Transmission of an Order, the country of the branch for the buyer/seller is provided by the transmitting firm.
Country of Branch Responsible for the Person Making the Investment Decision (Field 58)
This field holds the country of branch of the firm responsible for the investment decision.
You are only required to fill in this country code if the investment decision maker field is filled in and that decision maker is a natural person. If the investment decision maker is an algo this field is left blank. Again, despite the implication of 'branch' in the field name, this field is required even if the investment decision making firm is a head office.
Country of the Branch Supervising the Person Responsible for the Execution (Field 60)
This field is tied to the contents of the execution within firm field. You only supply a country code if the person responsible for execution is a person. If the value in the execution within firm field is an Algo of NORE then this field is left blank.
Again, if no branch is involved, the country code of the head office of the firm is still required if a person is specified in execution within firm field.
How Qomply can help
Qomply’s Regulatory Reporting Hub combines regulatory expertise with AI, automation and data analytics to deliver scalable, audit-ready reporting intelligence that reduces errors, lowers remediation costs, and minimises operational and regulatory risk.
Covering regimes including MiFIR, EMIR Refit, SFTR, CFTC, CSA, MAS, ASIC and HKMA, Qomply also offers a fully managed service and operates globally from London.
Frequently asked questions
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It identifies Field 37, Fields 8 and 17, Field 58, and Field 60 as the most error-prone country fields. The article says these fields are often misinterpreted because of opaque naming and unusual conventions.
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It should be populated for transactions executed on a trading venue or a third-country organised trading platform when the firm's membership was used. The article says this remains true even if the relevant member is the head office rather than a branch.
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It says Fields 8 and 17 represent the country of the branch that received the order, not the nationality of the buyer or seller. The article also says these fields apply on the client side and should be left blank for CCPs, brokers, the firm's own account, or INTC.
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Field 58 should be left blank if the investment decision maker is an algo, and Field 60 should be left blank if execution within firm is an algo or NORE. The article says both fields only require a country code when the relevant decision or execution person is a natural person.
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They should apply field-specific rules rather than rely on the field names alone. The article says many country-field errors come from misunderstanding what the field actually refers to and when the value must be blank.
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