Harry Eddis

Harry has long-standing expertise in financial markets regulation, and regularly advises banks, broker-dealers, investment managers and other financial services institutions on all issues related to their regulated status. In addition, he offers guidance on perimeter issues, such as authorisation requirements, market abuse and market conduct requirements, as well as wholesale market infrastructure. Recently, Harry has been advising on MiFID II and Brexit issues for a broad range of financial service institutions as well as industry bodies.

Harry is a market-leading expert on clearing platforms, advising both banks and Central Clearing Counterparties (CCPs) on a number of projects involving the structure of clearing arrangements across a wide range of product types, including credit default swaps (CDSs), IRS, commodities and foreign exchange (FX) products.

Harry has leveraged his regulatory and market expertise over the years to become a fintech expert, dating back to the establishment of BrokerTec and SwapsWire electronic trading and post-trade platforms. Harry continues to be a leader in this field, currently advising a consortium of banks on fintech issues and being a regular speaker at fintech events.

Harry spent more than four years with a major investment bank, covering equity derivatives, advising on the structuring and distribution of derivative products. This experience gave Harry particular insight into the way in which financial institutions operate and a deep understanding of complex financial instruments.

Work highlights

Harry has an extensive financial regulatory practice. The breadth of his practice includes advising, among others:

• a consortium of financial institutions on a project to develop a multi-jurisdictional private virtual currency (the “Utility Settlement Coin” (USC)) using blockchain technology, to be used for settling global financial transactions  
• Regulatory change: advising on the implications of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID2). Other recent matters have included advising on market conduct, the foreign exchange (FX) remediation programme, the senior managers regime (SMR), the impact of the senior management arrangements, systems and controls (SYSC) regime and Client Assets and Money (CASS) implementation
• New structures: advising on the creation and structuring of trading and clearing platforms, including NASDAQ, OTCDeriv and a consortium in the process of setting up a precious metals exchange and clearing platform
• Pre-contentious regulatory: advising on various FX reviews and remediation and market conduct investigations, including advising major banks on their policies and procedures to comply with the senior managers function (SMF)
• Contentious regulatory: advising a number of major banks on FX manipulation investigations and market abuse and conduct reviews, as well as carrying out “Shadow S166” reviews alongside regulators
• Financial sector corporate activity: advising on the financial regulatory aspects of IPOs and other corporate transactions

Harry has written considerably for publications such as the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), and is a member of a working group for the AFME Global FX Division, which works with regulators to implement policies ensuring an effective foreign exchange market.

Harry also mentors students at the Clapton Girls Academy, to help increase the girls’ self-confidence, gain experience of the working world, improve their academic performance and raise aspirations.

Harry studied politics and philosophy at Durham University, obtaining a 2:1 with honours.