The financial sector is becoming increasingly regulated worldwide. Since the outbreak of the financial market crisis, the EU legislature in particular has launched numerous regulatory initiatives, as a result of which banks, capital management companies and financial service providers are subject to increasingly strict requirements.

At the same time, the growing use of disruptive technologies presents the financial sector with new challenges. New technologies and global monetary and capital market policy also force corporate financing to be continually adjusted. Alternative corporate financing is becoming increasingly important alongside traditional loan financing through banks. The market for alternative capital investments has also become more important alongside the market for classic capital market products and has been subject to rapidly increasing regulation in recent years. In all of this, it is important to keep up with the fast pace of the financial market and to keep an eye on the high security requirements.

Security awareness and regulatory know-how are what Stein von Liebig's Financial Services team is very familiar with when it comes to providing competent advice to market participants in the financial sector.

We proactively analyze current regulatory developments and advise on their legal and audit-compliant implementation. In particular, we support credit institutions, capital management companies, financial service providers, payment institutions and FinTech companies in all legal matters relating to institutional and product supervision as well as product conception, including representation in court and before the financial supervisory authority. We advise companies on questions about alternative financing and questions about avoiding regulation.

When providing legal advice, we work closely with auditors, tax advisors and management consultants who specialize in financial services. As a multidisciplinary consulting company, we are able to offer attractive, complete advice from a single source, especially in complex product or institution-related projects, taking into account all relevant legal, tax, business and auditing aspects.

Our services at a glance

• Product supervision / product conception

  • Regulatory and corporate law advice on the structuring and restructuring of alternative financial products, in particular investment funds, trust structures and investments (particularly in the areas of real estate, transport, private equity, private debt, infrastructure and energy)

  • Advice on prospecting and preparation of subscription documents for the domestic and cross-border distribution of alternative financial products, including notification and approval procedures for BaFin

  • Advice on the compliant acquisition of assets for alternative financial products

  • Advising investors on investing in financial products, especially checking investment compliance according to VAG/AnlV/Solvency II

  • Advice on product design and sales in the FinTech sector, in particular on alternative payment systems, crowdfunding, use of blockchain technology in the financial sector (in particular Initial Coin Offering/ICO, Securities Token Offering/STO, trading in cryptocurrencies), on automated financial portfolio management/investment advice and on digitalized financial product sales

  • Advice on general banking contract law, including general terms and conditions

  • Advising companies on avoiding regulation, particularly on raising capital without regulation, including joint ventures/club deals

• Institutional and market supervision

  • Advice on the establishment and acquisition of institutes and branches as well as on obtaining or extending institute permits or registrations

  • Advice on the structure and process organization of supervised institutions and other obliged entities, in particular on the establishment of risk and compliance management systems as well as institutional remuneration systems, capital backing, outsourcing, money laundering checks, transparency and disclosure obligations as well as other governance and behavioral obligations

  • Advice on reporting and notification matters or on owner control in the context of mergers and acquisitions

  • Advice on capital market compliance

  • Advice on collaborations and platform solutions, especially in the FinTech sector

• Litigation/procedural representation

  • Representation of credit institutions, sponsors, issuers, administrators, intermediaries and other service providers as well as institutional investors in civil law disputes, in particular in the context of prospectus liability suits and other claims for damages in connection with financial products or financial services (individual and mass proceedings)

  • Representation in regulatory proceedings before the financial regulator.