Practices

Financial Services Regulation

Our Financial Services Regulatory Group provides a full range of advisory, transactional and compliance services. While regulation can often be complex, our approach is simple. We aim to know the client and the client’s business so that we can grasp the issues quickly and provide the client with a professional, practical and commercially focussed service.

Our clients include retail and wholesale banks, payment institutions, electronic money institutions, retail credit firms, credit servicing firms, insurers and reinsurers, investment firms, FinTech companies including companies operating in the crypto-sector, investment managers and funds, brokers, dealers and other intermediaries. We also advise clearing houses, exchanges and other market participants on derivatives-related clearing, settlement and custody issues.

Our expertise in this area includes providing:

Regulatory Advice and Guidance

  • Providing expert advice on Irish and EU financial regulations (including, for example, advice on the Individual Accountability Framework and insurance and reinsurance matters).
  • Assisting with the interpretation and application of current and proposed regulatory requirements.
  • Offering strategic guidance on compliance with Central Bank of Ireland (“Central Bank”) regulations and expectations.

Licensing and Authorisation Advice and Support

  • Assisting with the preparation and submission of applications for authorisation to the Central Bank.
  • Advising on the requirements for obtaining various financial services licences, including corporate governance and internal control requirements.
  • Supporting clients through the entire licensing process, including liaising with regulatory bodies in relation to  the EEA passporting process.
  • Advising clients in relation to their regulatory reporting obligations to the Central Bank,  fitness and probity and corporate governance requirements.

Risk Management and Mitigation Support

  • Developing and implementing robust risk management frameworks.
  • Identifying and assessing regulatory risks specific to clients’ businesses.
  • Advising on risk mitigation strategies to minimise regulatory exposure.

Financial Services Compliance Support

Providing tailored training programmes for staff on regulatory compliance.

Preparing periodic updates on the latest regulatory changes and best practices relevant to clients’ businesses.

Offering continuous support to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements, including reviewing existing compliance frameworks to ensure that clients’  internal policies and procedures align with regulatory standards. For more information, see our compliance page. 

We work on many of the most innovative transactions in the Irish market and advise on the most complex regulatory issues. Amongst other matters, we provide advice on regulatory capital treatment of structured products and debt instruments, provision of retail and wholesale financial services over the internet, insider dealing and market abuse issues, sanctions compliance, consumer credit matters and anti-money laundering requirements. Our London, New York and Brussels offices provide support on regulatory transactions and projects with an international aspect.

In addition, we have recently advised on a range of matters including:

  • Acquiring transaction notifications;
  • Regulatory investigations, including the administrative sanctions process;
  • Capital structures, regulatory capital and reserve requirements;
  • Remuneration regulation;
  • Conduct of business advisory compliance;
  • Purchase and sale of loan portfolios and other financial assets, including due diligence exercises;
  • Distribution arrangements for financial products and services;
  • Financial e-commerce, payment and mobile banking services;
  • The structuring and distribution of new and innovative products; and
  • FinTech developments.