In addition to providing advice on a full range of traditional banking and financial services law, our International Financial Services Group works closely with the firm's commercial lawyers whenever specialist financial expertise or regulatory knowledge is required to complete commercial transactions.
Some of the areas where the group's services are frequently called upon include:
- Production and negotiation of performance bonds and parent company guarantees (including in a cross-border context)
- Arrangements for the external financing of commercial transactions - including deferred consideration mechanisms, operational and finance leases, conventional lending arrangements and securitisation structures
- Assistance with assessment of the client's exposure to an insolvency of the other party or parties to commercial contracts, including assistance with evaluating funding structures proposed by other parties to the contract - this work frequently being carried out in a PFI/PPP context
- Advice on whether deferred payment arrangements with a client's customers may involve the provision of "consumer credit" and the drafting of compliant forms of documentation when they do
- Advice on whether particular arrangements, services or products involve a need for the party or provider to be regulated under relevant financial services laws
- Assistance on compliance with supervisory rules on the outsourcing of services by banks and financial service providers (for both banks and the suppliers of the relevant outsourced services)
- Assistance with trade finance arrangements supporting commercial contracts
- Dealing with contractual defaults caused by the insolvency of the other contracting party and evaluating remedies available
- Advice on compliance with money laundering regulations