Avanthi Weerasinghe

Principal – Capital Markets and Wholesale Policy at UK Finance

Speaker

Avanthi is a Principle at the Capital Markets and Wholesale Policy division at UK Finance and lead on listings, corporate finance and secondary capital market related policy files. Avanthi runs various member forums including working groups on the Consolidated Tape, Market Data, Consumer Duty and the Corporate Finance Committee and represents member views before parliamentarians and regulators at the national and international level.

Before joining UK Finance in 2022, Avanthi worked as a financial services regulator for 15 years including at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Avanthi held several roles at the FCA within its Wholesale Capital Markets division including market monitoring, policy and strategy formulation and trading venue supervision. Avanthi was involved in the implementation of MiFID II and MAR and has led the FCA’s sector views for wholesale capital markets (an intelligence led forward looking risk monitoring tool) which formed the basis for the FCA’s business planning and was also involved in formulating the FCA’s data led outcome based regulatory strategy.

Avanthi also led the IMF FSAP (Financial Sector Assessment Programme) for the FCA in 2021. She previously held various capital market regulatory and legal roles. Avanthi is a dual qualified lawyer in England and Sri Lanka and is a member of the Membership Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales. Avanthi holds an honours degree in Law (LLB) and a Masters In Law (LLM).