Regulatory advice

The essence of our services

We advise clients from across the financial services sector on the range of legal and regulatory issues faced by them:

• in the establishment, structuring and restructuring of financial services businesses
• in the conduct of business rules that apply to their financial and legal structuring, day to day conduct of their business and the manner in which they provide financial products and services to their clients
• in corporate transactions and restructurings.

Typical regulatory work carried out by the Financial services team:

• advising on perimeter guidance issues and on the establishment of regulated businesses across the investment management, investment advisory, banking, corporate finance, wholesale and markets and wider financial services sector
• advising on regulatory requirements impacting on the structure and management of regulated businesses including on capital and liquidity requirements, on management structures and controlled functions, and on regulation of remuneration and incentives for employees of regulated businesses
• advising on regulatory requirements which impact on dealings with clients and potential clients including client take on procedures and anti-money laundering requirements, financial promotions, client disclosures, suitability, dealing and managing, providing product information, reporting requirements and the treating customers fairly regime
• advising on specialist regulatory regimes such as the rules that apply to insurers and insurance mediation, to regulated mortgages, to pensions and pension wrappers and to authorised collective investment schemes
• advising on the wholesale and markets sector including issues arising from trading, clearing and settlement
• advising on cross-border issues such as the exercise of passporting rights and the distance marketing of financial products.

Experience

Three examples of our recent regulatory work:

• advising a leading international bank on its application for a UK deposit taking licence.  The work included detailed legal advice on the structuring of the application, the content of the regulatory business plan, the structuring and documentation of the banking products and services to be provided by the new bank, compliance procedures and controls, and numerous related legal and regulatory issues
• acting on the disposal of a major life assurance business from the original auction process to the sanction by the High Court of the insurance business transfer scheme.  The transaction was particularly complex as it involved a transfer of a with-profits fund and an interim reassurance agreement to allow part of the economic risks and benefits to transfer prior to completion of the sale
• advising a large number of high frequency and algorithmic traders on the structuring of their affairs to avoid regulation whilst at the same time benefiting from the tax breaks and low latency available from direct market membership.