
Sarah Thompson
+44 28 9026 5894
[email protected]
Arthur Cox
Victoria House
Gloucester Street
Belfast
BT1 4LS
Sarah Thompson is a financial services regulatory partner at Arthur Cox.
Sarah has experience in advising a broad range of clients on financial regulation matters and is admitted to practice in Northern Ireland, Ireland and England & Wales.
Sarah advises on Central Bank of Ireland authorisation processes, perimeter issues, ongoing compliance with conduct of business and other requirements (with a special focus on ESG matters and on the Individual Accountability Framework and the Senior Executive Accountability Regime, IAF/SEAR), and financial services M&A.
Prior to joining Arthur Cox, Sarah worked in London as a member of the Financial Regulation Group of Linklaters LLP and a partner in the Financial Services Regulatory team of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP.
Relevant Experience
- Assisting clients with applications for authorisation as MiFID investment firms and electronic money institutions
- Advising a number of leading US private equity houses on their obligations under MiFID, SFDR and IFR/IFD
- Assisting a number of global financial institutions in tracking ESG developments and preparing for compliance (at firm and product levels)
- Advising the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (designed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in collaboration with Afreximbank) on its inaugural repo transaction with Citi
- Delivering training to client legal and compliance teams on various matters including governance matters, IAF/SEAR and sustainable finance regulation
- Working with a number of Irish credit institutions to prepare for the introduction of the revised Irish client asset regulations
- Advising Montagu and Hg on financial services regulatory matters connected to their investments in Waystone
- Advising Global Shares plc on financial services regulatory matters connected to its acquisition by JP Morgan
Education & Qualifications
- Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, 2008, College of Law of England & Wales
- Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence), 2007, University of Oxford (Brasenose College) (admitted to Master of Arts in 2013)
- Admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales, 2010
- Admitted as a solicitor in Northern Ireland, 2021
- Admitted as a solicitor in Ireland, 2021
Related Services
Insights Blog

Sustainable Finance Update: Commission consults on SFDR

Department of Finance publishes Financial Consumer Protection Roadmap

CPC Update: Revised 2024 CPC Regulations to be updated again in 2025

IAF/SEAR Update: Second Commencement Order Signed

EU Taxonomy Regulation: Commission Publishes Draft Environmental Delegated Act

ESMA statement on offerings of unregulated products/services by regulated firms
Related Content

ESG Newsletter Q2 2023

IAF and SEAR – An Overview with Maedhbh Clancy and Sarah Thompson

The Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 signed into Law

Individual Accountability Framework: Bill finalised

COP27: Arthur Cox advises the LSF on their inaugural transaction

ESG Newsletter Autumn 2022

TransferMate $70 million Funding Round

Arthur Cox Appoints New Financial Regulatory Partner

The Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022

Central Bank of Ireland sharpens focus on operational resilience

SEAR/Individual Accountability: Proposed Privilege “Safe Harbour”

SEAR: Draft legislation expected shortly

NPL Update: Scope of Credit Servicing Directive agreed

Regulatory Horizon-Scanning: Central Bank priorities for the rest of 2021

AML Update: Express Trusts and Beneficial Ownership – Welcome Clarity

The European Commission’s EU Sustainable Finance April Package

AML Update: Crypto-Assets – VASPs must register with Central Bank

Arthur Cox Q&A: MLD5 Transposition and AML Horizon-Scanning

NPL Update
