Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Financial Services Regulatory

Partner

Hywel acts for a wide variety of banks, insurers and other financial institution clients with a principal focus on contentious financial services regulatory matters.  He advises clients in relation to FCA enforcement, challenging PRA decisions, and dealing with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Hywel also helps clients with managing skilled persons’ reviews, internal investigations and making notifications to regulators to avoid subsequent enforcement. He frequently advises clients on compliance with their regulatory requirements and governance issues, including in relation to senior management, individual accountability and attestations.

Hywel has experience across the retail and investment banking sectors, and acts for insurers and asset management clients.

He frequently assists retail and wealth management clients with issues involving consumer redress, complaints handling and matters involving the Financial Ombudsman Service; Hywel advises firms on implementing effective strategies for managing high volume issues as well as providing technical advice on individual complex cases.  This includes assisting clients targeted by the FCA using its redress power under section 404F(7) FSMA.

Hywel has recently advised clients on matters including internal disciplinary investigations and regulatory reporting of conduct of approved persons; making notifications in relation to transaction reporting; governance arrangements under CRD IV;  variations of permission; and multiple systems and controls issues.

​Hywel read PPE at Exeter College, Oxford between 1998–2001 before gaining distinctions from Nottingham Law School in both the graduate diploma in Law (2002–03) and LPC (2003–04).