When it comes to starting a business in the financial sector, there’s a lot to consider. It’s important to check whether your organisation requires a licence to operate in the financial sector. You also need to gain an understanding of the requirements your organisation is expected to fulfil to maintain its licence once it’s been granted and prevent regulators from taking enforcement action against your business and its executives. You will also have to make allowance for the relevant statutory provisions if you decide to wind up or sell your business or its operations or if you acquire an equity stake in a financial enterprise. The rules and regulations have a profound impact on the mechanics of your business and are subject to continuous change. Non-compliance can have major implications, not just financially, but also in terms of your reputation. That’s why financial regulatory issues call for professional support from expert and experienced lawyers.
Rules and regulations governing financial enterprises
Financial regulatory law lays down rules for varying types of financial enterprises (such as banks, insurance companies, investment firms, investment institutions, payment services providers, pension funds, etc.). The rules stretch across the life cycle of a financial enterprise. They regulate the entry into the financial markets, the operations, the financial management, the product development, the conduct and the culture, and the voluntary or involuntary winding-up of these enterprises or product portfolios. Partners in the chain, such as IT companies, are increasingly affected by these rules.
Issuers (both listed and unlisted) and other financial and non-financial enterprises involved in the money and capital markets (through derivative transactions) are expected to comply with financial regulatory rules as well.
Our long-standing experience in and with the financial sector, legislatures and regulators allows us to translate the tight regulatory framework into practical and proactive advisory services. We can help you by providing useful input and offer pragmatic solutions.
BDO would be happy to:
- Determine whether your organisation requires a licence, or whether exceptions, exemptions or dispensations apply;: declarations of no-objection
- Guide you through the process of applying for a licence or a dispensation;
- Guide your through the process of applying for declarations of no-objection;
- Guide you through the integrity and suitability screening process;
- Draft policy documents, product conditions, contracts and agreements;
- Advise on applicable continuous requirements and how to comply with them;
- Advise on rules governing mergers, acquisitions and carve-outs;
- Perform a due diligence review (for buyers and sellers) and draft relevant clauses in a share purchase agreement;
- Draft a prospectus and other offering documentation;
- Advise on averting imminent enforcement action by regulators;
- Perform impact analyses and implement new rules and regulations in policy documents, contracts and agreements, websites and other documentation;
- Give presentations and teach courses on new and existing rules and regulations, and on how to embed these in the organisation, to executive and supervisory directors, as well as employees of financial enterprises.
More information
The financial regulatory experts of BDO Legal specialise in issues relating to financial regulatory law. Please don’t hesitate to contact them – with no strings attached – if you have any questions about financial regulatory issues.