Business Legal Services

Regulated Banking & Finance Activities

Rely on our solicitors to help you strategically navigate regulated banking and finance activities.

Our solicitors are experts in a full range of financial services laws and regulations, including all aspects of regulation applying to financial investments. They also have experience in working on complex cross-border projects in the financial sector.

We advise extensively on the interaction between new and emerging technologies and financial regulation, and we are highly experienced in advising clients operating and innovative business models in the fintech sector to more traditional securities services products. Our solicitors have expertise in advising on various regulatory issues including:

  • Queries relating to Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 & Regulated Activities Order (RAO)
  • FCA application process, Appointed Representative.
  • Digitisation and tokenisation initiatives in securities services
  • AML, Bribery, Proceeds of Crime Act.
  • UK implementation/on shoring of European law, such as AIFMD, UCITs, SRD 2, BRRD II, MiFIR, SFTR.
  • Regulatory and transactional advice on all aspects of securities services, including custody arrangements, identification and segregation of client money and assets, CASS compliance, COBs compliance.
  • ESG horizon scanning, planning

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What we do

Banking & finance regulatory and legal advice

Our solicitors advise on various aspects of banking and investment firm regulation and market standard transaction documentation.

We can provide legal and regulatory advice on a wide range of regulated banking and finance activities including custody, repo, depository, securities lending and collateral management transactions. If you are a new company planning to work with existing banks or financial institutions active in securities services, we can work with you to help you develop your business plans and your systems and processes. Our solicitors have experience working with a range of institutions from entrepreneurial start-ups to major banks, and providing thought leadership to industry bodies on securities services.

Custody

If you are a financial institution providing custody services or intending to, or providing, services to a bank or financial institution providing such services, you will likely need to consider client money rules, CASS rules, and assess your fiduciary duties. If you are safeguarding assets, or act as a custodian or depositary we can help you with drafting or review of agreements, regulatory advice, including relating to temporary permissions regime, UK regime for UCITS & AIFs, financial collateral arrangements, CASS rules, as necessary.

You may need to consider COBs rules will be relevant if your firm carries on designated investment business (accepting deposits, structured deposits or issuing e-money) from an establishment in the UK.

If you are a digital asset, crypto asset provider, we can help you (i) navigate the UK’s custody regulatory framework and understand the extent to which these rules could apply to you; (ii) help you determine if the assets you propose to trade are regulated, for example, if they are considered financial instruments.

Securities Lending

We can help with review of market standard documentation such as Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (2010 & 2018), ancillary documentation like delegation agreements, and advise on regulatory compliance, including UK SFTR, DTRs. We can also advise on ESG, corporate actions, shareholder reporting, voting, as required.

Collateral Management

Our solicitors can advise on various collateral management arrangements with banks and financial institutions, account control agreements, pledge arrangements. We can help negotiate collateral management documentation with other banks and financial institutions and advise on regulatory issues such as reporting, corporate actions, uncleared margin rules, data protection.

If you are a company new to this field and planning to work with existing custody banks or financial institutions, we can work with you to help you develop your business plans and advise on regulatory compliance.

Our banking and finance solicitors work closely with our corporate and commercial teams to cover all aspects of your transaction, so the legal work is seamless whatever the nature of the transaction.

Who we help

Businesses exploring the regulatory implications of innovation

Our financial regulatory solicitors advise many different individuals and organisations. For example, we could offer cost effective solutions focussed advice if you are:

  • Overseas and on shore companies looking to offer financial services in the UK
  • Banks and financial institutions seeking regulatory advice
  • Fintech companies offering or planning to offer regulated or ancillary services to other banking or financial institutions
  • If you need transactional or regulatory advice for securities services, including securities lending, collateral management, or custody transactions

Meet our team

Why choose our banking and finance solicitors?

Our financial services specialists have deep industry knowledge, have worked in top law firms and financial institutions, have worked across the spectrum of new and innovative start-up companies and regulated entities and banks and provided thought leadership in their respective fields, working with banks, other advisors and industry bodies. They have a practical understanding of the financial services industry and deep technical knowledge which they will bring to bear on your transaction.


Testimonials

What our clients say

Experience of your team and how they make it simple to understand the options and what is required. Value for money.
Paul Smith COO, Incuto
Our Extend plan with Harper James allows our in-house counsel instant access to specialist support. We relied on their valued guidance to get us through the acquisition process with accuracy and confidence.
Alison Conway Senior Advisor, Trust Payments
As a young and growing fintech company, there have been a number of legal matters that we have needed to manage; such as client contracts, employment contracts and fund raising from investors. We’ve used Harper James for around a year and they have provided us with very valuable support through several lenses, not least in our funding round in late 2017, where we raised £1million and Harper James managed the legal side of the transaction. We recommend them without hesitation.
Gareth Morgan Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Delio
Experience of your team and how they make it simple to understand the options and what is required. Value for money.
Paul Smith COO, Incuto
Our Extend plan with Harper James allows our in-house counsel instant access to specialist support. We relied on their valued guidance to get us through the acquisition process with accuracy and confidence.
Alison Conway Senior Advisor, Trust Payments
As a young and growing fintech company, there have been a number of legal matters that we have needed to manage; such as client contracts, employment contracts and fund raising from investors. We’ve used Harper James for around a year and they have provided us with very valuable support through several lenses, not least in our funding round in late 2017, where we raised £1million and Harper James managed the legal side of the transaction. We recommend them without hesitation.
Gareth Morgan Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Delio

Complete solutions

Experts in financial services regulation

In addition to supporting you across key areas of regulated banking and finance activities, our team can assist with:


Pricing and service plans

Legal support designed
to fit your business needs

Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:

Engage

Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates

An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.

Extend

Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses

Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 34% discount on our Standard Rates.




What next?

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Our offices

A national law firm

A national law firm

Our commercial lawyers are based in or close to major cities across the UK, providing expert legal advice to clients both locally and nationally.

We mainly work remotely, so we can work with you wherever you are. But we can arrange face-to-face meeting at our offices or a location of your choosing.

Head Office

Floor 5, Cavendish House, 39-41 Waterloo Street, Birmingham, B2 5PP
Regional Spaces

Capital Tower Business Centre, 3rd Floor, Capital Tower, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, CF10 3AG
Stirling House, Cambridge Innovation Park, Denny End Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9QE
13th Floor, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, M1 4BT
10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Harwell Innovation Centre, 173 Curie Avenue, Harwell, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QG
1st Floor, Dearing House, 1 Young St, Sheffield, S1 4UP
White Building Studios, 1-4 Cumberland Place, Southampton, SO15 2NP
A national law firm

To access legal support from just £145 per hour arrange your no-obligation initial consultation to discuss your business requirements.

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