By Keily Blair and Andrea Holder (January 5, 2018, 11:23 AM EST) -- The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently commented that firms subject to the revised EU Market in Financial Instruments package (MIFID II) transaction reporting obligations will soon be unable to execute a trade on behalf of a client who is eligible for a legal entity identifier (LEI) and does not have one. In line with this view, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) also warned that investment firms should not provide a service on behalf of a client who is eligible for the LEI, prior to the LEI being obtained from the client. Despite these clear warnings, ESMA and the FCA have softened their stances in response to mounting pressures from banks and have granted a last minute extension to the LEI deadline. The cut-off date by which eligible firms were supposed to have a LEI in place was Jan. 3, 2018. However this deadline has been extended by six months....