Our compliance-related services include the following:
Implementation and monitoring of compliance (ethics) and internal control policies
- Ethical and banking supervision programs
- Documentation relating to the main ethical principles: code of ethics, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption charter (AML-AC), compliance charter, telephone records
- Establishment and dissemination to all employees of compliance/ethics standards (restrictions on personal transactions for employees)
- Transposition of compliance-related regulatory provisions into internal tools and procedures, including European directives relating to the banking, finance and insurance sectors such as Solvency II, MIFID 2, MAR and others
- Development of control channels and procedures, including mapping the risks of noncompliance and identifying checkpoints
Monitoring controls
- Controls on the application of regulations and the implementation of internal procedures and standards, including the monitoring of market transactions at D + 1
- Analysis and monitoring of the risks of conflicts of interest on financing and investment projects
- Verification of trading reports of potentially sensitive customers as well as preparation of compliance notices for new products or services
- Anti-money laundering, anti-corruption (tracking correspondence with the Banque de France)
- Follow-up of investigations conducted by the relevant supervisory authorities and administrations and preparation of answers to their questions (ACPR, AMF, Banking Commission, Tracfin, CNIL, etc.) during inspections
- Establishment of dashboards and compliance reports and identification of areas for improvement
Watch on control mechanisms
- Participation in national and international meetings with internal or external peers and the regulators and participation in the setting-up of recommended mechanisms (AMF, FBF, AFG, OCBF, etc.)
- Implementation and competitive monitoring of compliance and ethics best practices
- Updates of compliance standards and rules of good conduct within the banking or financial institution
- Analysis and summary of feedback on control actions and corrective actions
In-house advice and training on compliance issues
- Information for managers and/or their teams on internal control and compliance issues and training of network employees in the field of ethics/compliance
- Advising operational departments in coordination with the legal department on the application and practice of laws, rules and ethical standards (on subjects such as delegation of authority, abuse of weakness, the mandate contract, the right to alert, the disciplinary procedure of the ACPR, etc.)
We also handle U.S. and European regulatory issues and advise market participants on the impacts of onshore or offshore regulations on transactions involving traditional financial instruments and financing as well as initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other cryptocurrency transactions.
Our team is composed of lawyers who have experience working in banks, insurance companies, investment firms and asset management companies and therefore understand the operational challenges presented by banking and financial regulations, which our lawyers have helped to develop in France and in Europe for many years as members of official working groups with the regulators and the European Commission.
Our regulatory-related services include the following:
- Guidance regarding supervisory duties in matters of approval, changes in prudential standards and ratios, organization of internal control, compliance, and the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism
- Adapting documentation (account agreement, management mandate, etc.) to the evolution of the applicable regulations (code of ethics, control procedure, procedure manual, fight against money laundering, etc.)
- Drafting and negotiating contracts with service providers (outsourcing contract, delegation of financial management, delegation of custody, Sadie contract, etc.)
- Structuring and distribution of banking products or financial instruments (soliciting, marketing, specialized credit, payment instruments, online banking and financial services, UCIs and AIFs (approval, drafting of bylaws, regulations and prospectuses)
We also assist our clients outside Europe in drafting new banking and financial regulations for missions funded by international financial institutions (EBRD, World Bank, IDB, etc.).
Islamic Finance
Several of our lawyers have played a pioneering role in the development of islamic finance, particularly in France and Africa.
We regularly advise our clients in the following areas:
Regulatory issues
- Advising central banks with respect to the establishment of the legal, regulatory, fiscal, accounting and prudential framework for Islamic finance
- Advising banks, management companies and insurance companies on the implementation of products that comply with Islamic finance principles
- Coordination of seminars on Islamic finance for foreign central banks
Structured debt financing, Securitization and Sukuk issues
- Advising the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the Société Islamique pour le Développement du secteur privé (SID) in the establishment of financing lines with various banks in Africa
- Advising the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IFTC) in the implementation of guarantees;
- Advising Islamic banks regarding their participation in syndicated Islamic financing
We also advise clients on Sharia real estate financing.
