Financial Institutions
Our Financial Institutions Group (FIG) brings together highly skilled and specialised lawyers with deep industry knowledge and extensive experience in M&A, transactions, and financial regulation. We are committed to providing expert legal advice that sustainably supports the long-term success of credit institutions, investment firms, asset managers, financial services institutions, payment service providers (financial institutions), and insurance undertakings – and ensures they operate on legal footing.
As a full-service specialist among the top-tier German commercial law firms, we are ideally positioned to advise our clients on all key legal and strategic matters. Our services cover the full spectrum of issues relevant to financial institutions, including mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructurings (M&A), corporate law, financial regulation, compliance and corporate governance, competition/antitrust, employment law, data protection law, and tax law.
Our team regularly advises on complex, high-value transactions and works closely with regulators. We combine industry-specific transactional expertise with in-depth knowledge of related legal fields, ensuring that our clients receive holistic and practical solutions.
We understand the unique challenges faced by management and legal departments in the financial sector. Our approach is comprehensive, addressing not only legal and strategic questions but also operational considerations. Whether advising on the establishment of new financial institutions or insurance undertakings, on regulatory compliance, or on transactions, our goal is to enhance our clients’ performance and safeguard their interests in a dynamic regulatory environment.
“Strong team, very responsive, always there when you need them. (client)”
Transactions, M&A
Gleiss Lutz is one of Germany’s leading M&A law firms. We believe that in a dynamic and rapidly changing regulatory environment, specialised industry knowledge is essential for providing high-quality and targeted advice and executing complex M&A transactions for financial institutions and insurance undertakings.
Our specialised Financial Institutions Group consists of lawyers who focus on the needs of financial sector clients.
Our experts have deep and broad experience of all types of transactions in the financial industry – including mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures, restructurings, and more. In the insurance sector, specifically, the team has a proven track record on changes of legal form, demutualisations, outsourcings, and portfolio transfers, including run-off transactions – working effectively and efficiently with regulators.
Gleiss Lutz’s full-service approach integrates industry-specific transactional expertise with specialised legal knowledge. We bring together key areas such as employment, antitrust, compliance, and tax to provide truly comprehensive advice. That makes our experts best placed to provide excellent advice to financial institutions and insurance undertakings in connection with their M&A transactions in Germany and cross-border, having advised on numerous complex and high-value transactions in the financial sector in the recent past.
Financial regulation
Gleiss Lutz has a long-standing track record of advising on all facets of financial regulation. This includes advising on the establishment of new financial institutions and insurance undertakings or branches of foreign financial institutions and insurers, on transactions and restructurings, compliance violations and measures imposed by supervisory authorities. More
Corporate law and governance
Gleiss Lutz has been advising management and supervisory boards extensively for years on all aspects of corporate law, with particular focus on the unique requirements of financial regulation. Our lawyers are committed to providing comprehensive guidance that meets clients’ strategic and operational goals and needs.
Financial sector expertise is crucial for corporate governance. In addition to a profound knowledge of corporate law, corporate governance advisory requires a deep understanding of a company’s objectives and the interests of its shareholders, management, supervisory board, and employees.
We advise on all matters relating to internal structures, corporate duties, the division of responsibilities between the managing and supervisory boards, and the drafting of rules of procedure. With our experience, we help clients meet their legal obligations and avoid liability risks.
Asset management and capital investments
Asset management is paramount for insurance companies – especially when interest rates are low.
In close cooperation with our investments, capital markets law and M&A specialists, we advise on regulatory investment requirements, structure transactions to meet those requirements, and provide support for their implementation.
Compliance
Compliance violations can have far-reaching consequences for financial institutions and insurance undertakings, which are particularly dependent on customer confidence, financial market reputation and good relationships with supervisory authorities.
Gleiss Lutz advises both preventively and in the investigation of compliance violations.
Claims management
We represent both insurance undertakings and insured companies in high-stakes litigation, such as disputes over large insurance claims, challenges to the validity of policy conditions, and the defence against regulatory actions.
Reinsurance
Our experts have acted as trusted advisers to major reinsurance companies for years and are therefore particularly familiar with the specific commercial and regulatory characteristics of the reinsurance business.
Alongside traditional reinsurance, they also advise on all the various forms of alternative risk transfer.
Restructuring
Our experts have designed and executed numerous national and international restructurings and windups of financial institutions and insurance undertakings.
Global reach
We assist clients with a broad range of national and international projects. Our international network of leading local law firms enables us to cover all major jurisdictions around the world.
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