Banking & Finance

Global Overview

With an ever-growing national and international regulation of the financial and banking sector since the financial crisis as well as changing economic and political circumstances, banks and other financial services institutions are confronted with huge challenges in order to maintain and also expand their services.

Managing these challenges across multiple jurisdictions can be difficult when taking into account that every country has its own laws, regulations and cultural approach to deal with and accept financial services.

Multilaw has the required localised expertise and global footprint to assist clients in dealing with these issues.

The Multilaw Advantage

Every Multilaw firm is embedded in its local market and offers a wealth of experience in advising multinational clients in regulatory matters. We work with clients of all sizes, from FinTech start-up businesses looking to expand internationally for the first time, to long-established banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and other financial services providers looking to develop new financial products and services in compliance with or to check existing products and services for their compliance with national and international regulatory law as well as local customs.

The Multilaw Banking & Finance team provides fast, proactive and practical legal support. Approachable and commercially aware, our specialists across the globe have in-depth experience of the issues faced by businesses in their respective jurisdictions.

Multilaw’s lawyers keep clients up to date with the constant developments in banking and finance law across the continents, highlighting how these could impact on their overall strategy and helping to safeguard against the potentially huge costs of non-compliance.

What We Do

Lawyers of the banking and finance group cover the whole spectrum of banking and finance regulation. We offer expert advice regarding:

  • Banking - financial and insurance services as well supervisory law, in particular with respect to founding banks and other companies under supervisory law legislation.
  • International company law structuring issues, in particular in view of supervisory law legislation.
  • Project and asset finance including syndicated loans.
  • Real Estate Finance and Workouts.
  • The passing of credit risks (directly or derivatively, e.g. through True Sales, bonded loans, Credit Linked Notes, Credit Default Swaps etc.).
  • Transactions of receivables and guarantees (i.a. performing, sub-performing and non-performing loan-transactions).
  • Issues in connection with data protection and compliance.
  • Legal arrangements in connection with the IT systems of banks, in particular with respect to contract structuring in compliance with supervisory law provisions and the administrative practice of supervisory authorities.
  • Banks, financial institutions and securities trading companies concerning the preparation of their documentation, prospectus as well as model contracts and conditions.
  • Competition law.
  • Questions of liability of both the financial institution itself and their representatives.
  • Employment law issues, specifically with respect to banking supervisory law issues, e.g. in light of the Remuneration Ordinance for Institutions.
  • Advice relating to particularly valuable collateral, such as real estate, aircraft and ships.
  • Projects in connection with companies providing online banking and insurance-related services or which pursue such business models - FinTech companies.
  • Dispute resolution - whether in relation to disputes between various banks or with other third parties extrajudicial or before all national and institutional courts and (international) arbitral tribunals, in particular before banking supervisory authorities.
  • Financial Services and Insurance Regulation.
  • Restructuring.

Our Client Work

Acting for Bank of Nova Scotia in Financing of Acquisition of an Aircraft

Member firms in the US and Canada acted for The Bank of Nova Scotia as lender in connection with the financing of the acquisition of an aircraft in the US which was to continue to be registered as a US aircraft through a bare trustee arrangement. US member firm Duane Morris LLP provided the lender and Canadian member firm Miller Thomson LLP with US advice on aircraft matters and more usual financing matters as there were US guarantees and security agreement.

Assisting expansion for Large Life Insurance Company

A large life insurance company was seeking to offer loan-granting services in foreign European countries. Member firms worked together to assess the legal and economic conditions for such a business in the different jurisdictions in order to give advice on the best locations for such an expansion of the client’s business.

Offering strategic advice to InsurTech startup on where to expand

Member firms worked together to assist an InsurTech-company on their planned overseas expansion. The Multilaw network assessed different target jurisdictions and decided in which countries a new business and market entry might be favorable and profitable for the company. Following the research, the company is now working with Multilaw firms to roll out operations in the UK and The Netherlands. They are also now exploring options in the US.

Project Financing in the Agricultural Sector

Canadian member firm Miller Thomson acted as lead counsel for a syndicate of lenders led by Bank of Montreal in connection with establishment of $100,000,000 operating and project financing for Canadian and US borrowers in the agricultural industry with locations in Ontario, Michigan and Ohio. US member firm Polsinelli PC acted as local agent for the Lenders in the US.

International Investment Fund

Provided advice and legal representation in numerous non-performing loan (NPL) transactions amounting to more than €200m.

The World Bank

Member firms carried out an assessment of the venture capital ecosystem in different countries as well as a legal examination of the potential for improvement for venture capital investments from a legal perspective.

$100m Mine Financing in Quebec

Canadian member firm Miller Thomson advised on $100M mine financing by the investment arm of the Quebec government involving a nickel and copper mine owned by a Chinese interest in Northern Quebec. Chinese member firm JunHe prepared and negotiated the Chinese law guarantee of the sponsor and settled the local law opinions and regulatory matters with opposing counsel.

Large German bank (DAX-company) vs. investors

Provided advice and legal representation in a multitude of related court proceedings regarding investor complaints.

Advising OTP bank on the acquisition of Serbian Vojvođanska Banka

Member firm Karanović & Partners advised OTP Bank, one of the leading banks in Central and Eastern Europe, on the acquisition of Serbian Vojvođanska Banka. Services included the due diligence of Vojvođanska Banka and its affiliates, advising on transaction documents and obtaining of regulatory approvals (merger clearance and approvals from the National Bank of Serbia).

Practice Group Contacts