Co-Chair
Jean-Francois
ADELLE
Co-Chair
Philippe Dupont
Banking & Financial Law Committee
The Banking and Financial Law Committee provides a worldwide forum for banking lawyers and other legal professionals within the banking community to address all sorts of practical and legal issues arising in commercial and regulatory activities in this context. The Committee has held one of the IBA’s most popular and well established events, the International Financial Law Conference, every year since 1984. Below you will find information, updates, news and other resources relevant to your committee.
Publications
Requirement to hold an Australian financial services licence potentially applies to overseas companies
The Australian Government has proposed significant changes to the regulation of overseas companies seeking to provide financial services to clients in Australia, as this article explains.
Released on Mar 20, 2024
Digital banking versus traditional banking in Türkiye: the legal considerations for consumer protection
In the Turkish finance sector, digital banks offer a plethora of advantages, including cost savings, convenience and technological innovation, making them increasingly popular among consumers seeking efficient and accessible banking solutions. However, these advantages come with their own set of drawbacks, such as limited physical presence, security concerns and potential challenges for certain demographics. This article discusses the consumer protection regime that applies to digital banking.
Released on Mar 20, 2024
Banking secrecy laws in Mauritius – is Norwich Pharmacal relief excluded by the statutory regime under the specific provisions of the Banking Act 2004?
The judgment from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the ‘JCPC’) in the case of Stanford Asset Holdings Ltd (Stanford) and another v AfrAsia Bank Ltd (2023) UKPC 35, delivered on 10 October 2023, has shed new light on the court's jurisdiction in respect of the question of whether Norwich Pharmacal relief is excluded by the statutory regime under the specific provisions of the Banking Act 2004.
Released on Mar 20, 2024
Proposed implementation of the NPL Directive in Romania
Recent developments in Romanian financial legislation concern the transposition of the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) Directive into Romanian national law. Against the backdrop of an expired implementation deadline, attention has turned to two significant draft bills released for public debate. Firstly, a draft government emergency ordinance aimed to facilitate the transposition process. Secondly, a draft order issued by the National Bank of Romania, which mandates credit institutions to report on assigned NPLs.
Released on Mar 20, 2024
Projects and reports
Good Practice Principles for Cross-Border Closing Opinions
(The Legal Opinion Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and the IBA Banking & Financial Law Committee)
The Legal Opinion Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Banking & Financial Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) have formed a joint task force on cross-border opinion practice (the ‘Task Force’). The Task Force seeks to: (1) build upon work done under the auspices of the ABA, the IBA, the Union International des Avocats and the City of London Law Society; and (2) to collaborate with a number of other bar groups in various countries to improve the practices of lawyers throughout the world relating to the giving of, and advising recipients of, closing opinions in cross-border transactions. The ABA and the IBA have undertaken these efforts to help the legal profession remain a constructive contributor to global finance and commerce, and hopefully, to aid the flow of capital across borders, particularly to emerging economies. This document seeks to establish foundational principles on closing opinions in cross-border finance transactions.
Fintech: how is the world shaping the financial innovation industry? (2024)
In recent years, financial technology (fintech) has rapidly expanded worldwide, forcing traditional financial institutions to evolve in response to this innovative manner of conducting business in the financial industry. Today, we continue to witness the significant impact of fintech on global markets, as it reshapes the financial landscape. Looking ahead, the evolution of fintech promises to further challenge and transform existing frameworks, requiring continuous adaptation and regulatory foresight.
In 2023, the IBA Banking & Financial Law Committee launched an extensive research project aimed at dissecting and understanding the diverse legal frameworks that govern fintech around the globe. This original study covered 39 countries, providing a comprehensive overview of how different jurisdictions are navigating the complexities of fintech regulation.
Through this new edition, the project has been extended to 61 countries across different regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central America, Europe, Latin America and North America. The project contains analysis of how different countries regulate fintech companies and looks at the existence of specific legal frameworks applicable to crypto assets. It also assesses how different jurisdictions around the globe regulate payment service providers and digital wallets and features an overview of special programmes supporting fintech ecosystems. Lastly, the report covers how jurisdictions regulate and deal with matters relating to open banking.
The report has been coordinated by Carlos M Melhem, Treasurer of the IBA Banking & Financial Law Committee and a partner at Allende & Brea in Buenos Aires; Matias Langevin, Young Lawyers’ Committee Liaison Officer of the IBA Banking & Financial Law Committee and a partner at HD Legal in Santiago; Lukasz Szgeda, Academic Liaison Officer of the IBA Banking & Financial Law Committee and a partner at Wardynski & Partners in Warsaw; and Rafael Aguilera, Real Estate Section Liaison Officer of the IBA Banking & Financial Law Committee and a partner at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo in Madrid.
Covid-19 emergency measures relating to funding and claims recovery
In 2020 the Covid-19 crisis struck economies worldwide and triggered an unprecedented set of emergency measures to financially support private companies and consumers, mitigate the impact of the outbreak on financial contracts and payment obligations and avoid systemic insolvencies. In this context, the IBA Banking Law Committee undertook a comprehensive survey of those measures across a selection of jurisdictions from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, jointly representing a material part of the global economy.
The review provides a comparative description of measures under a standard grid of questions around four themes: (1) emergency funding through state guaranteed loans and sectorial support; (2) relaxation of regulatory requirements for lenders; (3) stay/rescheduling of statutory time periods and of contractual obligations, and temporary changes to insolvency and (4) work out frameworks.
The survey is meant to assist practitioners in understanding risk patterns, trends, challenges and opportunities and preparing for adjustments in their fields of practice from a domestic and international perspective. Going further, it is expected to be a reference base to explore new paradigms in banking and finance that may emerge out of the Covid-19 crisis, and their impact on banking and financial services, markets, and players.
The report has been coordinated by Jean-François Adelle, a partner at Jeantet AARPI Paris and Klaus Löber, Head of Oversight at the European Central Bank. IBA Banking Law Committee officers and members in 30 jurisdictions have contributed to the report.
Impact investing: the rise of impact – a lawyer's perspective from a business outlook
A taskforce on the rise of impact and the role of lawyers (the 'Task Force') was created in 2020. The objective of the Taskforce is to produce a set of practical guidelines and recommendations related to impact investing (the 'Guidelines and Recommendations'). These are being developed by business lawyers, addressed to clients who intend to attract investors such as BlackRock to their companies by:
- understanding not only technical legal issues but also the overall context, the changing paradigms and the need for flexibility, sustainability and stakeholder inclusion, where companies are accountable not only for generating profits but also for creating positive social and environmental impacts;
- infusing ethics into the decision-making process, weighing legal risks and protecting the company’s interests; and
- becoming strategic facilitators of an organisation’s growth.
As part of this work, the Task Force has outlined a very practical case, where a client holding of several leading companies in various industries, with operations in many countries and shares listed in the most important exchanges, has entered into an agreement with an investor that intends to make its investment in tranches, provided the company undertakes to deal effectively with the environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of its businesses, with milestones to be met in the short and long term.
The Guidelines and Recommendations focus on the fundraising and corporate governance aspects of the practical case mentioned above.
In December 2020, the Final Consolidated Recommendations from the Smart Governance Working Group were presented to the IBA. The conclusions of the work were discussed at the IBA 2020 Virtually Together Conference during the IBA Showcase session: The rise of impact – a lawyer's perspective from a business outlook, which took place on Tuesday 17 November 2020.
Securitisations - challenges and hurdles for a rebirth of securitisations
Subcommittees and other groups
The Banking & Financial Law Committee also coordinates the activities of the following subcommittees/working groups.
- AI Banking and Financial Subcommittee
- Alternative Finance Subcommittee
- Banking & Financial Law Committee Advisory Board
- Banking Regulation Subcommittee
- Clearing and Settlement of Financial Securities Subcommittee
- Derivatives Subcommittee
- Finance in Emerging Countries Subcommittee
- Financial and Banking Law Conferences Subcommittee
- Financial Innovations Subcommittee
- Innovations in Financing Transactions Subcommittee
- International Financial Law Reform Subcommittee
- Islamic Finance Subcommittee
- Legal Opinions Subcommittee
- Project Finance Subcommittee
- Structured Finance Subcommittee
Join us on LinkedIn
If you are a member of the Banking & Financial Law Committee, for additional networking opportunities, programs, interviews with fellow members and tips all exclusive to members, join our LinkedIn page.