Banking and Finance Law - R. Vrahimis & Associates

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Banking and Finance Law
The banking and financial industries are heavily regulated.  Banking and Finance law and its regulations, impose rules for auditing and preparation of financial statements, registration and reporting requirements for banks and other financial institutions, rules regarding financial and commercial consumer service and payments, rules regulating investment funds, securities and financial instruments, trading and post-trade services and other transactions, taxation rules  Banking and finance law does not only affect banks and financial institutions but it may also influence mergers and acquisitions of companies, stock purchases and investments and tax audits of bank accounts.  It is considered to be a branch of private civil law but it also involves some aspects of public law.

European Union legislation

EU laws allow effective financial supervision and risk management of banking and financial institutions, but also include social security and pension rules as well as laws for uniform auditing standards and initiatives for capital markets integration and union.  The EU legislation regulating the banking and financial industry covers almost all of the relevant areas and sectors such as:

  • EU legislation for auditing of companies’ financial statements that regulate the quality of statutory audit and preparation of financial statements:
      • Accounting rules Directive.
      • International accounting standards Regulation.
      • Audit Directive.
  • EU legislation for listed company reporting and transparency if they operate in the EU by disclosing certain information about their finances and how they operate with the Transparency Requirements for Listed Companies Directive.
  • EU legislation for banking union making the European Central Bank (ECB) the central prudential bank supervisor in the Eurozone.  There is a “bail in” mechanism which ensures the orderly resolution and liquidation of failing banks with the Single Resolution Mechanism regulation and the Bank recovery and resolution Directive.
  • EU legislation for capital markets union that creates a more integrated capital market in the EU and a more diversified financial system by.
      • Financing for innovation, start-ups and non-listed companies
      • Making it easier for companies to enter and raise capital on public markets
      • Investing for long term, infrastructure and sustainable investment
      • Fostering retail investment
      • Strengthening banking capacity to support the wider economy
      • Strengthening the capacity of EU capital markets
      • Facilitating cross-border investment
  • EU legislation for consumer finance and payments for retail financial services and payments:
      • Consumer financial services:
          • Mortgage Credit Directive.
          • Payment Accounts Directive.
          • Key Information Documents for Packaged Retail and Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation.
      • Payment services:
          • Payment services (PSD1) Directive.
          • Payment services (PSD2) Directive.
          • Single euro payments area (SEPA) Regulation.
          • Cross-border payments Regulation.
          • E-money Directive.
  • EU legislation for financial markets that govern financial instruments, trade in securities and investment funds and legislation to make post-trade services:
      • Securities markets:
          • Markets in financial instruments (MiFID) Directive.
          • Markets in financial instruments (MiFID 2) Directive.
          • Markets in financial instruments (MiFIR) Regulation.
          • Short selling Regulation.
          • Prospectus Directive.
          • Prospectus Regulation.
          • Market abuse Regulation.
          • Market abuse Directive.
          • Benchmark Regulation
      • Investment funds:
          • Undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) Directive
          • Alternative investment fund managers (AIFM) Directive.
          • European venture capital funds (EuVECA)  Regulation.
          • European social entrepreneurship funds Regulation.
          • European long-term investment funds (ELTIFs) Regulation.
          • Money market funds Regulation.
      • Post-trade services:
          • Derivatives (EMIR) Regulation.
          • Central securities depositories Regulation.
          • Settlement finality Directive.
          • Financial collateral Directive.
  • EU legislation for Insurance and pensions that prevent investment risks and facilitate the development of a single market for insurance and pensions:
      • Risk management and supervision of insurance companies (Solvency 2) Directive.
      • Insurance distribution Directive.
      • Institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORP) Directive.
      • Motor insurance Directive.
  • EU legislation for financial supervision and risk management:
      • Financial conglomerates Directive.
      • Banking prudential requirements Directive.
      • Banking prudential requirements Regulation.
      • Bank recovery and resolution Directive.
      • Deposit guarantee schemes Directive.
      • Credit rating agencies Regulation.

Banking and Finance assistance

Whether an individual has made a mortgage or hire purchase agreement, or whether one is interested in creating intra group company financing vehicles and investments, if a company is involved in routine lending arrangements or day-to-day trading and sales or whether a merger or an acquisition is negotiated, banking and finance law expertise shall prove absolutely necessary for resolving a dispute, for managing all necessary litigation, arbitration, regulatory and disciplinary matters on behalf of companies and individuals.

Many people request legal assistance with banking and finance law when incorporating a company or when starting a new business.  As seen above there is a plethora of laws and regulations that control how an enterprise may spend its money and be transparent in its investment funds or draft its accounts.  Contracts need to be signed, a company structure needs to be decided, tax law and tax benefits and avoidance is paramount.  To ensure compliance with all laws, rules and regulations small business and startups need to hire a lawyer from the outset.

Individuals may also require legal advice.  They may have their bank accounts or their personal information compromised by financial institutions, they may run across illegal creation of mortgages, unfair contract terms in their loan agreements, overcharges and unfairly high interest, foreclosure and forced sale of their property, a need of restructuring their loans, etc.

Banking and finance legal issues pose special problems when financial transactions are conducted across borders or internationally.  For example, Islamic law prohibits the imposition of interest on certain types of loans.  Also tax or financing laws in financial banking or business transactions may be different in various jurisdictions.

Our services

We shall provide assistance on disputes relating to capital markets, brokerage, asset management, private equity, derivatives and structured finance.  We shall advise on disputes concerning non-performing loans (failure to meet loan payment obligations) and restructuring negotiations, including disputes about the execution of mortgage or security clauses, including clauses for the appointment of an administrator or a liquidator.  We shall assist in private capital and retail investment disputes, product disputes, and claims against banks or wealth managers, bankruptcy and insolvency.

If you or your business is involved in banking or other financial disputes, you shall need immediate expert legal advice to make certain that the matter is resolved quickly and effectively.  Our commercial litigation and dispute management team has years of experience in this area of law.  We have helped companies and individuals with their banking and other financial problems by dealing with a broad range of cases including cases related to, finance, investment and banking problems.

Our services include all banking and finance law matters, claims and disputes such as:

  • Legal Opinions.
  • Legal Due Diligence.
  • Money laundering issues.
  • Claims relating to fraud.
  • Tracing of fraudulent transactions.  We can then organise express and concrete strategies to enforce rights, recover money or assets, or defend financial and reputational claims such as:
      • Mareva Injunctions.
      • Garneshee Orders.
      • Norwich Pharmacal Orders.
      • Anton Piller Orders.
  • Drafting of all types of agreements with banks, debtors and lenders.
  • Issues, disputes and litigation between banks and financial Institutions and customers such as:
      • Finance issues and disputes.
      • Funding issues and disputes.
      • Insurance issues and disputes.
      • Lending issues and disputes.
  • Merger and Acquisition issues and disputes.
  • Corporate issues and disputes.
  • Trading issues and disputes.
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