EU watchdog says MiFID market rules off to smooth start

LONDON (Reuters) - The rollout of new European Union securities rules on Wednesday has been glitch-free so far, though disruptions in coming days and months cannot be ruled out, the bloc's markets watchdog said.

"What we can see for our part, is no glitches so far," Steven Maijoor, chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), told reporters.

But given the complexity and size of the reform, ESMA could not rule out glitches in coming days or weeks, Maijoor said.

The new rules, known as Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II), were delayed by a year to Wednesday to give banks, asset managers and exchanges time to get ready.

"We think sufficient time has been given for all to be prepared for MiFID II," Maijoor said.

Regulators in Britain and Germany intervened just hours before the rollout began to give three clearing houses an exemption until July 2020 from opening themselves up to more competition.

Maijoor said this would be a "one-off" waiver and the new requirements for clearing houses would come into effect in 2020.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Jason Neely)