Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce that financial services regulatory expert John Ahern has joined the firm as a Partner in London to bolster the firm’s regulatory practice.

Dual-qualified in England & Wales and Ireland, John has over 30 years of experience in the UK, European and Asian financial markets. His practice focusses on the regulation of banks and other financial institutions regulated by the EU and UK prudential and conduct regulators. John regularly advises on EU and UK financial services regulation including MIFID, Market Abuse Directive, EMIR, CRR and the Payment Services Directive. He has a particular focus on the prudential regulation of banks and investment firms and frequently advises on the EU Capital Requirements Regulation and related measures.

John’s clients include banks, multilateral trading facilities, broker-dealers, asset managers and investment advisors. He is an active practitioner within the industry and is a member of SIMA’s board.

London Corporate and M&A Group Head and Partner Chris Kilburn commented: “I am delighted to welcome John to WFW. Financial services regulation has been an area of increasing focus to our international clients and John’s deep expertise and ability to provide high quality advice across a broad range of regulation throughout the EU and UK will be a great benefit to the firm and our clients”.

John added: “[I am thrilled to be joining WFW to reinforce its financial services regulatory practice. The firm’s strong bank finance background and focus on energy and transport presents considerable financial services regulatory-related challenges and opportunities that will complement my practice and clients”.