Michael Kent

Michael is renowned as a leading practitioner in financial regulation, and is the firm’s lead regulatory partner for many major banking clients and investment management firms. He offers strategic guidance on regulatory, compliance and risk management to CEOs and Chairmen, boards of directors and general counsel.

Michael has extensive experience in advising banks, broker dealers and asset managers on governance, provides training to executive and non-executive directors, and has assisted many banks and large investment firms on their implementation of the Senior Managers and Certification regimes in the UK.

Michael has been a leading figure in devising new alternative trading and clearing and settlement systems, including leading a consortia of banks in the introduction of clearing of the over the counter derivatives market.

Michael advises on regulatory enforcement work, and also on acquisitions and reconstructions of banks and broker dealers, including the migration of banking/brokerage businesses to different entities and jurisdictions, including managing firms’ Brexit planning.

He also has particular expertise advising on the implementation of MiFID II and training on market abuse and multi-jurisdictional licensing and conduct issues, and has acted for asset managers and others in relation to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforcement of client money and client assets rules.

Work highlights

Michael has led on a number of the market’s major developments and leading transactions. A selection of these include:

• leading a consortium of banks on a project to restructure the OTC (over the counter) derivatives market from 1999, with that work still ongoing. OTCDeriv brought the key market players together, created a joint venture with LCH, and underpinned the development of Swapclear. Those changes provided stability and efficiencies in the market by introducing centralised clearing of swaps and in due course foreign exchange and credit default products. Swapclear proved it’s value when tested during the collapse of Lehmans in 2008, in which many hundreds of billions of dollars of derivatives transactions were successfully closed out with counterparties insulated from losses 
• acting as the lead regulatory partner to PricewaterhouseCoopers on the Lehman Brothers International administration in the aftermath of Lehman’s administration 
• acting as lead regulatory adviser to Merrill Lynch in Europe following its acquisition by Bank of America 
• acted for Bank of America in relation to its implementation of MiFID II

Michael is a member of, and legal adviser to, the FICC Market Standards Board (“FMSB”), which defines and sustains good practice standards for wholesale Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) markets and raise standards of behaviour, competence and awareness.

He is also a member of the Bank of England/FCA Lawyers Consultative Group

He is a trustee and member of KXC, an Anglican church in King's Cross.

Michael studied law at the University of Liverpool and received a first class degree