Joe Beashel is a partner in the Financial Institutions Group and is head of the regulatory risk management and compliance team at Matheson.
He is a solicitor with over twenty years’ experience, most of which were gained in the financial services sector. Before joining Matheson in 2004, he was the managing director of the Irish fund administration unit of a leading international investment manager.
Joe assists clients with the authorisation of new entities by the Central Bank of Ireland including banks, MiFID / investment firms, fund services providers, alternative investment fund managers, payment institutions, retail credit firms and others. He also assists in expanding the regulatory authorisations of existing entities. Drawing on his extensive industry experience, Joe provides practical advice and assistance to boards of directors, senior management, in-house counsel and compliance officers in relation to the impact of new regulation. He assists clients in the effective and timely implementation of any required changes and works to provide a robust assurance that implementation meets legal requirements. Joe and his team assist clients to carry out reviews of their process and procedures covering issues such as anti-money laundering, MiFID suitability, client assets requirements. He assists clients prepare for reviews by the Central Bank notably so-called “PRISM” reviews which have become increasingly common.
When issues arise he assists clients in assessing the legal and regulatory impact and helps develop remediation plans. Where the Central Bank initiates its administrative sanctions process he works with clients to minimise the impact of any sanction imposed. He also helps clients who are dealing with complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman to ensure the most favourable outcome possible.
Joe is a member of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland and the Institute of Bankers. He co-ordinates the drafting of course materials and lectures for the Institute of Bankers of Ireland as part of its Professional Development (Level 3) qualification. He has spoken and written on topics including the new Payment Services Directive, the updated Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and many others. He published a book, the Fitness and Probity Handbook which gathers together all the relevant materials regarding the Central Bank's Fitness and Probity regime. Joe's previous publications include the MiFID Directory.