Why Choose Our Financial Regulation lawyers?
We advise on the full spectrum of financial
services regulation, including financial and capital markets, banking, asset
management, payment services, electronic money, anti-money laundering and
regulated mortgages. We work closely with our highly regarded derivatives and
structured finance teams and we have a depth of experience advising on
regulatory issues relating to financial markets and products.
Within the above we have four
particular areas of specialisation:
- financial markets regulation,
including on securities and derivatives trading and financial markets
infrastructure
- prudential regulation,
including regulatory capital and risk mitigation
- market conduct, conduct of
business and systems and controls.
- new product innovation, often
including cryptocurrency and/or payment services
Regulatory work covers all stages of development from the establishment of financial services firms through to mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance arrangements, restructurings, financings, regulatory capital arrangements to the creation and distribution of financial products and other matters of strategic importance. We also advise on the interaction between UK and non-UK regulation including, of course, the aftermath of Brexit.
Contentious regulatory work includes defending
individuals and firms which are the subject of regulatory attention, in areas
including market abuse, anti-money laundering process and systems and controls
breaches.
Our clients include banks, broker-dealers and
other investment firms, commodity traders, mutuals, investment managers,
payment and e-money institutions, funds and fund managers and various fintech
businesses, including peer-to-peer and other innovative finance providers as
well as firms involved in claims management.
Notable deals and highlights
- Regulatory perimeter issues and obtaining regulatory authorisations including, in respect of: payment services and e-money issues; claims management; appointed representative or agency arrangements; consumer lending; insurance distribution; mortgage lending; collective investment schemes and alternative investment funds
- Advising buy-side and sell-side clients on the impact of EMIR and MiFIR on their derivative trading activities, including in relation to the systematic internaliser regime, trade reporting and transparency requirements, the derivatives clearing and trading obligations, regulatory initial and variation margin arrangements, direct electronic access and algorithmic trading requirements, and direct and indirect clearing arrangements
- Impact of LIBOR discontinuance and the Benchmarks Regulation on their cash and derivative products
- Compliance and conduct of business issues for regulated businesses of all types including major programmes to deal with regulatory change (e.g. MiFID II; PSD2; Senior Managers & Certification regimes;
- Remuneration regimes; regulatory capital requirements; safeguarding requirements for payment services firms
- Advising a major UK exchange-traded fund provider on the regulatory aspects of a proposed cryptoasset-backed note issuance programme
- Defending investigations and responding to enquiries by the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, Serious Fraud Office and the London Metal Exchange
What others say:
'The technical abilities within this team are very strong
indeed. There is real engagement from beginning to end and the process of
advice and problem-solving has always felt truly collaborative and streamlined.’
‘Fieldfisher
has been excellent at establishing our needs very quickly in very urgent
circumstances, giving us rapid initial guidance and then putting the most
appropriate team together to assist us, for an issue that spanned several areas
of expertise.’
‘Genuinely
interested in our business and getting us the best result possible. I felt like
we were their only client – the focus was exceptional.’
‘Great
team of professionals with outstanding knowledge and experience in the area.
Very good understanding of the industry and client needs. Very diverse team.
Each lawyer we had to work with was very easy going and approachable, all very
motivated and responsive.’
‘We
worked with Simon Lafferty and Steven Burrows on regulatory matters and we were
entirely happy with their advice and support. All issues have been sorted to
our full satisfaction. Both easy going and generally very pleasant to deal with.’
‘Upon benchmarking with other actors we met it was clear to us that Fieldfisher was (by far) the most value for the money. Their price was significantly lower and their dedication higher. Also, they treated us as a big client even though we (at the beginning) were not. Further down the line into our cooperation they provided us with contact details to other legal professionals in Europe, thus saving us time in doing due diligence on new partners etc. Fieldfisher is basically a respectful legal partner that provides value and dedication. This is not as easy to find as you might think.’
2022 - Legal 500
Ranked as a leading firm in IFLR 1000 (2021) for Financial Services
Regulatory