Olivia Kendall-Martin
Olivia Kendall-Martin

Olivia Kendall-Martin

Director

Email

olivia.kendall-martin@aoshearman.com

Phone

+44 20 3088 3231

Offices

London

V-CARD
Olivia is an ex-regulator with significant experience of working on high profile and challenging financial services regulatory matters.

She joined A&O Shearman from the Financial Conduct Authority where she held roles across the supervision, policy and strategy divisions, and completed a year-long secondment to JP Morgan in the Office of Regulatory Affairs.

Specialising in regulatory strategy and response, Olivia uses her regulatory expertise to ensure clients proactively identify and mitigate regulatory risk and achieve the best business outcomes. She often works closely with multiple client business areas to ensure a coordinated, coherent and strategic response to regulatory issues and priorities.

Since joining A&O Shearman, Olivia has worked extensively with financial services clients to help them manage their most challenging and pressing regulatory concerns. This includes advising clients on a range of supervisory interactions and regulatory tools, such as thematic reviews and Skilled Persons appointments, and providing comprehensive strategic support to a number of high priority internal projects and regulatory change programmes. She has undertaken a number of large-scale reviews of client legal entity and group governance structures, designing rationalised and effective arrangements, and conforming them to regulatory expectations.

Olivia also has extensive experience advising clients on the UK Senior Managers and Certificate Regime (SMCR). This includes carrying out fundamental reviews of firms’ application of the SMCR, providing SMCR training to senior management, preparing candidates for Senior Manager regulatory application interviews, and advising on SMCR issues including reasonable steps.

Olivia has additionally supported a number of bank and non-bank clients on regulatory authorisations matters, including supporting licensing or variation of permissions applications and the implementation of governance, risk and compliance arrangements.

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

Conducting a large-scale programme to review and enhance a global bank’s implementation of the SMCR. This included considering the entire senior manager population across multiple entities, the design of appropriate governance arrangements, and the drafting key regulatory documentation.

Providing strategic regulatory advice and operational support to a global investment bank on its Skilled Persons review, covering response strategy and handling, regulatory engagement and risk identification. This included preparing Senior Managers for interviews, providing end-to-end support on responses to information requests, identifying and advising on emerging skilled person findings, reviewing the Skilled Person draft report, and the preparation of the management response.

Providing advice to a European headquartered retail bank on their regulatory engagement, including with respect to supervisory interventions and information requests.

Delivering key components of a Skilled Persons risk remediation programme for a large asset manager, including risk governance, reporting and regulatory engagement.

Designing and implementing a streamlined governance framework for multiple UK entities of a large European-headquartered asset manager, aligned to regulatory expectations and wider group governance requirements.

Secondment to global investment bank to design and implement a corporate governance framework for the EU sub-group, including the UK regulated entity and its subsidiaries.

Delivering various workstreams of a large-scale IBOR transition programme for a global bank, including relating to conduct risk management across business lines, use of Term SONIA, and tough legacy policy.

Supporting various non-bank regulatory license applications within the UK and EU, providing advice relating to organisational, governance and risk management and internal control arrangements, including compliance monitoring plans, enterprise risk assessments and policies.

Preparing a number of Senior Managers in global investment and retail banks on their regulatory obligations under local accountability regimes such as SMCR and advising on SMF transition arrangements and application submissions.

Reviewing and identifying enhancements to operational, conflicts and conduct risk frameworks for several financial services firms.

Pro bono

  • Guest lecturer at the University College London for MSc course module “An Introduction to regulation for fintechs, private equity and venture capital firms”, 2021 and 2022.
  • Supporting UK Finance and the Lending Standards Board with the publication of a report covering best practice guidance in transition from LIBOR for SME customers.

Speaking Engagements

  • Guest lecturer at the University College London for MSc course module “An Introduction to regulation for fintechs, private equity and venture capital firms”, 2021 and 2022.

 

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.