We advise on and assist with applications to financial services regulators and competent authorities across the Crown Dependencies, EU and EEA.

Depending upon the jurisdiction and regulatory regime, our work includes:

• applications for authorisation, licensing and registration;

• applications for new or additional regulated activities;

• extensions and variations of existing permissions, licences or authorisations;

• cancellations, surrenders and withdrawals of permissions or licences;

• applications and notifications concerning branches and cross-border activities;

• applications and notifications relating to senior managers, directors, controllers and approved, authorised, designated or other regulated persons;

• regulatory business plans and programmes of operations;

• governance and organisational structure;

• capital and prudential documentation;

• compliance, risk and financial-crime frameworks;

• outsourcing and operational-resilience documentation;

• wind-down, recovery and contingency planning; and

• responses to questions, information requirements and other enquiries raised by the relevant regulator during the application process.

We can manage the regulatory workstream from the initial assessment of the proposed business model through preparation of the application and supporting documentation to regulatory engagement and determination.

Changes in the ownership or control of regulated businesses frequently require advance regulatory assessment, notification or approval.

We advise regulated firms, shareholders, investors, acquirers and corporate groups on the regulatory implications of:

• acquisitions and disposals;

• Changes in Control;

• acquisitions or disposals of qualifying holdings;

• increases and reductions in existing ownership or voting interests;

• indirect and ultimate beneficial ownership;

• group reorganisations and restructurings;

• changes involving intermediate holding companies;

• acting-in-concert and significant-influence considerations;

• mergers and other corporate transactions; and

• changes to controllers, directors and senior management.

We assist with pre-transaction regulatory analysis, transaction structuring, regulatory notifications and applications, supporting documentation, responses to regulatory enquiries and engagement with the relevant competent authority through to approval or completion.

For cross-border transactions involving more than one regulated entity or jurisdiction, we can assist in coordinating the different regulatory workstreams and applicable approval processes.

Individual accountability is an increasingly important feature of financial services regulation.

We assist firms and individuals with the requirements applicable to directors, senior managers, compliance officers, MLROs and other persons performing regulated, controlled, approved, designated or key functions.

Our services include:

• applications for regulatory approval;

• notifications of appointments and departures;

• fitness and propriety assessments;

• allocation and documentation of responsibilities;

• governance structures and reporting lines;

• Board and committee terms of reference;

• conflicts of interest;

• independence of compliance, risk and financial-crime functions;

• regulatory interviews and preparation;

• succession and contingency arrangements; and

• ongoing assessment of regulatory responsibilities and accountability.

We also advise boards and senior management on the practical implementation and evidencing of effective governance.

We design and review regulatory frameworks tailored to the client's actual business model, regulatory classification and risk profile.

Rather than relying upon generic templates, we seek first to understand the client's products, services, customers, distribution channels, jurisdictions, transaction flows, governance and operational arrangements.

Depending upon the business and applicable regulatory regime, we can prepare or review:

• Compliance Manuals and Frameworks;

• Compliance Monitoring Programmes;

• Enterprise and Regulatory Risk Frameworks;

• AML/CTF and Financial Crime Frameworks;

• Business-Wide and Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessments;

• Customer Risk Assessment methodologies;

• CDD, KYC, KYB and EDD procedures;

• PEP, sanctions and adverse-media procedures;

• transaction monitoring frameworks;

• suspicious activity escalation and reporting procedures;

• conflicts of interest policies;

• outsourcing and third-party risk frameworks;

• operational-resilience frameworks;

• governance and Board reporting frameworks;

• regulatory breach and incident procedures;

• complaints procedures;

• record-keeping frameworks; and

• regulatory reporting and notification procedures.

Our objective is not simply to produce documentation, but to establish a framework that is proportionate, operationally workable and capable of being evidenced to the regulator.

We assist regulated firms with the governance, analysis and documentation supporting their prudential and regulatory reporting obligations.

Our work includes, where applicable:

• ICAAP and associated capital adequacy assessments;

• ICARA and investment firm prudential assessments;

• liquidity and capital assessments;

• risk appetite and risk management frameworks;

• stress and scenario testing;

• recovery and wind-down planning;

• regulatory returns;

• periodic compliance and risk reporting;

• Board and senior-management regulatory MI; and

• governance and controls supporting the preparation, review and submission of regulatory information.

Regulatory scrutiny requires a structured, accurate and carefully managed response.

We assist firms facing:

• regulatory enquiries;

• supervisory reviews;

• information requests;

• thematic reviews;

• regulatory inspections;

• investigations;

• identified compliance or control deficiencies;

• remediation requirements; and

• issues arising from internal or external compliance reviews.

We can assist clients in identifying the underlying regulatory issues, reviewing relevant evidence, coordinating responses, preparing regulatory submissions and developing remediation programmes.

Where deficiencies are identified, we help firms translate regulatory expectations into specific actions, responsibilities, evidence and implementation timetables.

Where a matter requires formal legal representation or jurisdiction-specific legal advice, we work alongside appropriately qualified local lawyers.

We provide a comprehensive suite of regulatory and operational documentation for both new applicants and established regulated businesses.

Depending upon the applicable regime, this may include:

• Regulatory Business Plans;

• Programmes of Operations;

• Compliance Manuals;

• Compliance Monitoring Plans;

• Governance Frameworks;

• Risk Management Frameworks;

• AML/CTF and Financial Crime Policies;

• Risk Assessments;

• Outsourcing Frameworks;

• Operational Resilience Plans;

• Business Continuity Plans;

• Wind-Down and Recovery Plans;

• Board and committee governance documentation;

• responsibilities and governance maps;

• regulatory reporting procedures; and

• policies, procedures, manuals and operational controls required by the applicable regulatory framework.

Documentation is developed around the client's business rather than simply adapted from a generic precedent.

International financial services groups frequently need to reconcile the requirements of several regulators simultaneously.

We advise on and assist clients to develop group-wide compliance, risk and financial-crime arrangements capable of satisfying the requirements of the relevant home-state and host-state regulators while recognising local differences.

This can include:

• cross-border regulatory mapping;

• gap analyses between jurisdictions;

• group versus local policies and procedures;

• governance and reporting structures;

• outsourcing and delegation;

• intra-group services;

• regulatory permissions and licensing requirements;

• branch and subsidiary structures;

• regulatory reporting and notifications; and

• coordination of multi-jurisdictional regulatory projects.

Where specialist local advice is required, we work with local law firms, regulatory consultants, accountants, tax advisers and other professional specialists, either selected by the client or drawn from our established professional network.

Effective engagement with a regulator requires more than technically correct documentation. The firm's position must be clear, consistent, evidenced and capable of withstanding regulatory scrutiny.

Our founders have extensive experience of dealing with financial services regulators and have developed professional contacts with regulators across the jurisdictions in which we operate.

We assist clients with:

• preparation for Board meetings and with meetings with regulators;

• regulatory correspondence and submissions;

• responses to Requests for Information;

• preparation for regulatory interviews;

• presentation and explanation of business models;

• responses to regulatory concerns;

• remediation plans;

• applications and transaction-related engagement; and

• ongoing supervisory dialogue.

Our role is to help clients engage with their regulators openly, accurately, constructively and effectively.

A regulatory framework is effective only if it operates in practice.

We therefore provide tailored training for boards, senior management and staff to help ensure that new or revised regulatory systems and controls are properly understood and embedded within the business.

Training can include:

• Board and senior-management regulatory responsibilities;

• compliance and conduct;

• AML/CTF and financial crime;

• sanctions;

• governance and individual accountability;

• risk management;

• regulatory reporting;

• operational resilience;

• outsourcing and third-party risk;

• regulatory change; and

• jurisdiction-specific regulatory requirements.

We can also support implementation following authorisation, licensing or registration to help ensure that the systems, controls and commitments presented to the regulator are translated into the firm's day-to-day operations.