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With more than 30 years of experience in UK, European, and Asian financial markets, John Ahern advises banks, multilateral trading facilities, broker-dealers, asset managers, and investment advisors on regulatory challenges. He offers clients deep knowledge of how regulators in different jurisdictions approach compliance and enforcement issues and helps them operate in compliance with financial regulations, while also maximizing opportunities.
Mr. Ahern's practice focuses on the regulation of banks and other financial institutions by the EU and UK prudential and conduct regulators. He regularly advises on various EU regulations that were developed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, including MiFID II, the Market Abuse Directive II, the Payment Services Directive II, and the EU's EMIR regulation in relation to futures and derivatives. He has a particular focus on prudential regulation of banks and investment firms and frequently advises on the EU Capital Requirements Regulation and related regulatory measures. Mr. Ahern's practice involves advice to asset management and private fund clients on AIFMD, custody arrangements, brokerage, clearing and trading, and payment systems. Mr. Ahern also has experience representing individuals in UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) compliance and enforcement matters.
Mr. Ahern previously served as in-house counsel for a global investment bank, and he draws on this understanding of financial business operations in advising clients.
- Represented a major Asian bank in the establishment of a private wealth business in the UK.
- Advised a European proprietary trader on establishing a UK subsidiary and the capital requirements associated with it.
- Represented an international banking group in the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities from The Royal Bank of Scotland relating to its structured retail investor products and equity derivatives business.
- Represented a provider of tenant referencing and insurance products to the UK private rental sector in its sale to an international investment firm.
- Represented a UK and Continental European property investment company in its £192 million sale of a UK multi-let predominantly industrial property portfolio to a fund.
- Represented a privately owned real estate investment company in an investment by a pan-European real estate fund and additional investment by the client's founders, together providing £25 million of equity investment capital.
- Advised the board of directors of a global strategic financial platform in the sale of shares representing 60 percent of all the company’s issues shares, together with the grant of put and call options in respect of the remaining shares to the other main shareholder.
- Represented an administrator of real estate/property agents in connection with the £635 million sale of more than 7.1 million square feet of UK office and industrial properties to a U.S.-based fund management company and its advised institutional real estate fund.
- Advised a UK and Continental European property investment company in the sale of a UK multi-let industrial property portfolio in two transactions for a total of £146.1 million after the deduction of rental top-ups.
- Advised a UK real estate portfolio manager with the formation of a €750 million pan-European real estate private equity fund.
- Advised a leading UK commercial bank with a corporate governance review project. Provided advice on the bank's compliance with corporate governance obligations under the Companies Act 2006 and as a PRA- and FCA-regulated entity.
- Advised a real estate manager in respect of its counterparty status, portfolio reconciliation and dispute resolution obligations imposed by EMIR.
- Advised UK commercial banks on the portfolio reconciliation and dispute resolution obligations imposed by EMIR.
- Advised a national federal agency for financial market stabilization in connection with the €2.5 billion rights offering of the country's second-largest bank.
- Advised the London branch of a corporate and investment bank on the measures necessary to comply with the obligations imposed by EMIR and Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.
- Advised a global investment banking firm in connection with the sale of Class A Ordinary Shares in a closed-end private equity investment company that holds a diversified portfolio of private equity fund investments and direct co-investments, diversified across private equity asset class, geography, industry, vintage year and sponsor, by its largest shareholder.
- Advised a global asset manager in connection with establishing a trading operation in London.
- Advised the London branch of an international financial services organization on the impact of the Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review on its business activities.
- Advised a significant general insurer in an enforcement matter under the FCA rules on insurance mediation.
Pro Bono
- Law Society of Ireland Pro Bono Program
January 13, 2021, Covington Alert
On January 1, 2021, the United States Congress enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AMLA”), as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (the “Act”). The AMLA includes extensive and fundamental reforms to anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws in the United States, including the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). We described the principal reforms — ...
January 2021, Covington Guide
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (EUTCA) reached on December 24th is a wide-ranging and complex agreement. Our Brexit Task Force offers these "bite-sized" recordings to give a snapshot of what you need to know in each area. Though the EUTCA provides the overall architecture of the future relationship in a number of areas, much of the detail must still ...
December 28, 2020, Covington Alert
On December 24, 2020, exactly four and a half years after the result of the UK’s EU Referendum, the UK and the EU reached an agreement on their future trade and cooperation arrangements: the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“EUTCA”). The transition period that has run since the UK left the EU in January 2020 will end at midnight Central European Time on ...
December 15, 2020, Financial Times
John Ahern spoke with the Financial Times about an investment fund that is profiting off the rents from social housing programs in the UK paid by taxpayers. The fund claimed to be a cheaper option than alternatives, such as hotels and bed and breakfasts. Mr. Ahern says, “It’s the lesser of two evils.” More high-quality homeless accommodation is good, even if ...
November 24, 2020, Covington Alert
On November 20th, the Commons’ Treasury Select Committee launched an Inquiry looking at the future of financial services regulation in the UK after departure from the European Union. In this alert we set out the scope of the Inquiry and how companies can contribute evidence that may influence the Committee’s findings. The Committee is appointed by the House of ...
November 20, 2020, The Banker
John Ahern appeared on The Banker Podcast to discuss how banks can best prepare for a no-deal Brexit, as well as the fallout from the Wirecard scandal in terms of regulators’ views on the fintech community.
October 26, 2020, Covington Alert
Recent press coverage reports that 2020 has seen a significant drop-off in enforcement activity by the UK’s financial services regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) with new enforcement cases against companies down 76 percent and a number of open cases now closed. However, this will likely be a temporary shift only as the FCA pivots to meet the ...
October 2, 2020, Global Risk Regulator
John Ahern and Francis Maude are quoted in Global Risk Regulator regarding trade deals that will significantly impact the city of London. Mr. Ahern spoke about a UK-Japan trade deal that will improve financial services access. He says, “It is good the UK reached an agreement with Japan, it gives confidence that deals can be concluded elsewhere, but Japan is not ...
October 2, 2020, Global Risk Regulator
John Ahern and Francis Maude are quoted in Global Risk Regulator regarding the European Union’s pursuit to compete with the UK in financial services. Mr. Maude says, “One of the criticisms of the EU generally is that it tends to focus on competition within the EU. The UK focuses on competitiveness globally and the balance is not on lower levels of regulation. ...
August 23, 2020, The Wall Street Journal
John Ahern is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the restructuring of European banks following the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Ahern says geographical diversification used to be seen as a way to offset weakness when one market cooled. “In coronavirus, you have a global economy almost in shutdown. You're not leveraging an advantage and can be exposed to too ...
EU's AI Regulations Could Lay Blame With CTO
August 18, 2020, Waters Technology
John Ahern is quoted in Waters Technology regarding the unintended consequences of AI regulation. Mr. Ahern shares that if the EC isn’t careful in writing future AI legislation, that the old law of unintended consequences could kick in. “What we need to be attentive to is where in the chain of liability are individuals affected. Think, for example, of the CTO: ...
August 6, 2020, Covington Alert
In July 2017, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced the likely discontinuation by the end of 2021 of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the interest rate index used in calculating floating or adjustable rates for many loans, bonds, derivatives and other financial contracts.
Pandemic Sparks Worries Of Market Abuse Crackdown
August 5, 2020, Law360
John Ahern is quoted in Law360 regarding the UK’s increased crackdown on market abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Ahern says tackling market abuse appears to be "very close to the heart" of Mark Steward, the FCA's head of enforcement and market oversight, who reiterated in May that the FCA is continuing to monitor and investigate firms' conduct in real ...
June 1, 2020
LONDON —John Ahern has joined Covington’s Financial Services Industry Group in London as a partner. With more than 30 years of experience in UK, European, and Asian financial markets, Mr. Ahern helps banks, multilateral trading facilities, broker-dealers, asset managers, and investment advisors solve their regulatory challenges. He offers clients deep knowledge ...
- Chambers UK, Financial Services: Non-contentious Regulatory - UK-wide (2006-2020)
- IFLR 1000
- Financial and Corporate Guide
- Highly Regarded (2018 and 2019)
- National Law Review, Go-To Thought Leader Article of the Year Award (2019)
- The Legal 500 UK, Leading Individual (2006-2016, 2019)