Financial Services Regulatory

Financial services regulatory

• Advised a leading European bank and collaborating firms on the regulatory implications and build-out of Project Pyctor – a decentralised permissioned network that aims to provide digital asset safekeeping and transaction services (with a focus on regulated security tokens issued either on private or public blockchain).
• Assisting the UK FCA with assessing change in control applications. Under section 178, FSMA, persons who decide to acquire or increase control over regulated firms require pre-approval from the UK regulators.
• Acting for a former Group Executive of one of the Big 4 banks in relation to an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation concerning AML/CTF issues, and also in relation to a range of issues following the Hayne Royal Commission.
• Advising Bank Leumi Israel on all relevant banking law aspects in connection with the sale of its entire participation in Bank Leumi Romania to First Bank, controlled by U.S. investment fund J.C. Flowers & Co., in a process of restructuring its international presence.
• Advised a multinational bank on the reorganisation of its agency securities lending business including ensuring regulatory compliance with UK, French and other European local laws.
• Advising an international bank's project to set up regulated branches in various European countries. Our team worked with a combination of regulatory and corporate lawyers to provide solutions to the Dutch-headquartered, regulated entity.
• Advising a major bank on the financial services regulatory arrangements necessary to integrate a private bank and their clients into the bank. The transaction relates to USD10 billion of client assets.
• Advising a French crowdfunding platform on its regulatory requirements.
• Advising one of the main Spanish digital banks in the establishment of a branch in UK.
• Secured a new national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for FundBank, a bank serving hedge funds and private equity funds globally. FundBank's charter was one of only two new national bank charters granted in 2024. Currently advising FundBank on its effort to become the first uninsured national trust bank to access the Federal Reserve payment system through its own master account.
• Advised OneSource Virtual on chartering OneSource Virtual Trust Bank, the first national bank chartered by the OCC under the current administration. The trust bank manages billions of dollars in trust assets and relies on federal preemption of state licensing regimes.
• Advising Bullish Global on US money transmission and securities law, its money transmitter license applications and its New York BitLicense application under the NYDFS framework. We also advised on change of control matters in connection with Bullish's acquisition of Equiniti, a deal that creates a global transfer agent for tokenized securities.
• Acted as lead counsel on a SPAC business combination involving a leading digital asset platform, creating a publicly traded digital asset treasury company expected to hold more than US$1 billion in digital assets. Advised on SEC disclosure obligations, Nasdaq listing requirements, and SPAC regulatory matters.
• Advising one of the world's largest stablecoin issuers on the global issuance of a first-of-its-kind interest-bearing stablecoin.
• Advised WSPN on its US market entry and stablecoin launch, including compliance with money transmission, securities and commodities laws.
• Providing ongoing regulatory advice to a national trust company, including assisting with the removal of restrictive obligations imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).