Financial Services Regulatory

From advising fund managers on regulatory, compliance and operational matters to helping clients navigate their regulatory compliance obligations, our lawyers offer full support to clients on financial regulatory matters relevant to investment management and beyond. We also advise on relevant developments and considerations regarding changes to the U.S., U.K. and EU financial regulatory framework.

Further, our white collar defense and government investigations lawyers are consistently recognized as market leaders for enforcement and investigations work, with an in-depth understanding gained from years of experience working at the regulators and for regulated businesses.

Global Team with Regional Knowledge and Experience

We represent a broad range of the world’s leading financial services firms, institutional and alternative investment managers, retail and investment banks, brokerages, insurance and reinsurance companies, as well boards of directors and senior individuals within financial institutions.

Our lawyers have deep knowledge and experience advising on the financial regulatory framework in jurisdictions worldwide. We understand the differences in approach between regulators and how similar issues translate from one jurisdiction to another. Our understanding of the regulatory framework and regimes within multiple jurisdictions enables us to help clients to identify differences in the regulation of their businesses across the globe and manage risk accordingly.

We advise on matters involving the following issues, agencies and regulatory bodies, among many others:

• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Department of the Treasury, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as well as self-regulatory organizations and state regulators.
• Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and statutes, including the USA Patriot Act, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Money Laundering Control Act, as well as U.S. sanctions regulations applicable to banks.
• Congressional investigations, including executive commission or other special governmental investigations.
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and U.K. Bribery Act.
• U.K. financial services regulatory framework, including the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA).
• EU legislative and regulatory framework, including the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and related Regulation (MiFID II), Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), Short Selling Regulation (SSR) and European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
• Structuring and promotion of sustainable funds, and the application of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and Taxonomy Regulation.
• Codes issued by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC).

Services In-Depth

Our integrated, global practices are dedicated to helping clients to understand—and operate within—financial services regulations. We offer services in the following key areas, among others.

Global Investment Adviser Regulatory

We represent the world’s largest private investment funds, as well as their executives and traders, on the full spectrum of regulatory and compliance issues. Akin’s globally integrated investment adviser regulatory and compliance team is the first call for funds facing complex regulation and compliance issues.

We assist clients facing examinations, investigations and enforcement proceedings arising under the securities and commodities laws. Our dedicated investment adviser regulatory and compliance team represents a wide range of registered and exempt advisers and asset managers in maintaining compliance with all applicable regulations.

Learn more about our global investment adviser regulatory services.

Structuring Regulated and Unregulated Businesses

We help emerging companies and established businesses expanding into new areas or jurisdictions to understand the potential application of financial services regulation and, where appropriate, to structure the business so as to take advantage of available exemptions or limitations thereby avoiding the need for registration or authorization or otherwise limiting the impact of regulation.

Bank Capital and Bank Resolution and Recovery Regimes

We advise investors in par or distressed bank capital instruments, including advising on the:

• Purchase of bank capital instruments (including advising on private placements of Core Equity Tier 1, Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments issued pre-initial public offering (IPO) by new entrants into the European banking market).
• Regulatory framework that determines the characteristics of bank capital instruments under Basel III and, for banks incorporated in a member state of the European Union, Credit Requirements Directive (CRD) and Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR).
• Liability management exercises by banks adjusting their capital structures consequent on the global financial crisis and the Basel III/CRD IV initiatives.
• Investment strategies deriving from various legacy Basel II hybrid capital structures.

White Collar Defense and Government Investigations

Recognized for our depth in representing leading financial institutions, our team counsels banks, broker-dealers and private investment funds—as well as their key executives and traders—in critical financial regulation and securities enforcement matters. We advise on compliance concerns and legal proceedings arising under U.S. and international securities and other regulatory laws affecting banks.

With our finger on the pulse of developments surrounding both traditional and emerging risk areas, we offer our clients a multidisciplinary and coordinated approach that helps them navigate through a volatile regulatory and enforcement landscape.

We understand the issues that concern regulators and drive the government’s approach across a broad spectrum of investigations, including:

• Fixed income
• Futures/commodities
• Equities, including market structure/alternative trading systems
• FCPA/anti-bribery
• Collusion/antitrust
• Data security breaches
• Accounting and disclosure
• Employee- and workplace-related issues
• Tax-related issues
• Whistleblower activity.

Learn more about our white collar defense and government investigations services.