Financial services regulation
Global protection for financial institutions.
Freshfields’ top-tier financial regulatory practice works seamlessly across major business and financial hubs in EMEA, the US and APAC. The intellectual capital of the team spans decades of work on the most complex regulatory requirements, multijurisdictional matters and thought-leadership initiatives.
Our lawyers are known for their advisory and transactional work with the largest financial markets participants on both the buy and sell side, including banks, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, private wealth and boutique M&A, market infrastructure players and fintech firms.
As well as advising on the most important transactions in the sector, recent work includes transformational Brexit-related mandates, which involve helping clients analyse their businesses in light of a base-case Brexit scenario and developing contingency plans to address the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU.
Clients also come to us for bespoke advice on the full range of regulatory issues, including licensing, governance, culture and conduct, as well as regulatory capital and recovery and resolution planning.
At our clients’ request, the practice team provides market-leading legal and strategic commentary in our monthly FS Insights newsletter.
Client successes
Advising many of the largest financial institutions on MiFID II.
MiFID II is the revised version of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, the EU legislation regulating firms that provide services to clients linked to financial instruments. We are advising on regulatory implementation and compliance.
Advising numerous multinational companies - including several of the world's leading investment banks - on the impact of Brexit on their UK and European business.
Several of these mandates have moved from initial advice to the proposed implementation of Brexit plans.
Acting for one of the world's leading investment banks on the multijurisdictional investigation into alleged manipulation of Libor, the benchmark interbank lending rate.
This was the biggest investigation post the financial crisis, involving more than 25 regulators in more than 10 countries.
Regulatory
- Administrative and public law
- Anti-bribery and corruption
- Anti-money laundering
- Constitutional complaints and procedures
- Data protection and privacy
- Defence and export controls
- Environmental, construction and planning law
- Financial services regulation
- Foreign investment regulation
- Human rights
- Low-carbon economy
- Privatisation
- Product regulation
- Public private partnerships (PPP)
- Public procurement
- Regulatory and public affairs
- Sanctions
- State aid
- Trade
Our team
You can get in touch with our practice group lead Michael Raffan, any of the regional heads shown below or a member of our global team.
Matthew O'Callaghan Partner
Hong Kong
Tim Mak Partner
Hong Kong
Yuxin Shen Partner
Beijing
James Smethurst Partner
London
Emma Rachmaninov Partner
London
Dr. Alexander Glos Partner & Co-head Financial Institutions Group
Frankfurt am Main
Brian Rance Partner
New York
Marc Perrone Partner
Paris
Dr. Markus Benzing Partner
Frankfurt am Main
Dr. Gunnar Schuster Partner
Frankfurt am Main
