Financial services
Our financial services group advises international commercial and investment banks, investment managers, mortgage brokers, insurers, and other key players in the financial services markets on a wide range of issues relating to international financial services regulation. Our main areas of work are as follows:
- Non contentious regulatory - We advise clients on such matters as the need for Financial Services Authority (FSA) authorisation when they are launching a new business, financial promotion, collective investment schemes, and offers of securities to the public. We help them structure and operate their businesses so they are compliant with FSA and other regulatory requirements. In addition, we help clients to implement significant change arising from corporate reorganisations, merger and acquisition activity and the implementation of new legislation, such as MiFID, UCITS IV and AIFMD.
- Investment funds - We design and implement innovative legal structures for new investment funds, including real estate, infrastructure and private equity funds and assist clients in maintaining and (where necessary) restructuring their investment funds and related contractual arrangements.
- Contentious regulatory - We have extensive experience in defending clients against regulatory actions by financial services regulators, as well advising clients on preventative measures to avoid enforcement situations arising.
- International financial centres (IFCs) - We have developed a unique approach to designing and implementing IFCs, which draws on the wide-range of specialist expertise across our strategy, regulatory, tax, legal and implementation teams to design and implement innovative frameworks, as well as assisting clients in improving their existing IFC offerings.
Practice areas:
The PwC perspective
Lawyers in our financial services network work closely with PwC specialists in such areas as financial services regulation, business assurance, tax, corporate finance, risk management and management consultancy. They provide us with a full understanding of our client's situation and an ability to provide real commercial solutions.
As part of an international legal network, we can provide integrated advice to assist our clients in expanding their business and product offerings across multiple jurisdictions.
We are regularly involved in leading work on, and contributions to, PwC initiatives connected to proposed and new legislation. A current example is the draft Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive - we have advised a regulatory authority, attended meetings with EU Commission policy staff and produced client briefing materials, and made presentations to clients.
