Banking

We support our banking clients through a dynamic team of lawyers drawn from our Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Tax, Litigation and Real Estate practices. Together they have unrivalled breadth and depth of experience working with both local and international banks and financial institutions.

With detailed knowledge of the banking sector and the regulatory environment in which participants operate, we provide solution-oriented commercial advice to banks on complex and large-scale transactions and help them address their most challenging business issues.

Bank regulation

We help local banks and international financial institutions to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing regulatory landscape, including advising on the implementation of EU directives and wider regulatory issues such as passporting financial services into Greece. We also play a significant role in working with regulatory bodies including the Bank of Greece on licensing issues areas such as banking operation, NPLs, and new payment systems.

NPLs

With a record number of NPLs on the balance sheets of local banks, Greece leads the EU in NPLs and NPE’s. We have extensive experience in advising local systemic banks in putting together international tenders for the sale of NPL portfolios, including small-business unsecured loans, collateralized loans, shipping loans, consumer loans and others. We have also assisted leading funds in performing due diligence on NPL portfolios and the underlining collaterals, and acquiring NPLs, including negotiation, finalizing documentation and securitization arrangements.

Banking products

Banks are continually refining and updating their product sets in response to changes in market sentiment and the evolving needs of their clients. Our market-leading Banking & Finance and Capital Markets practices advise banks on the full spectrum of financial products and services, including syndicated lending, leveraged and acquisition finance, asset finance, derivative products, project finance, insolvency and restructuring, debt capital markets, equity capital markets, structured debt and structured finance. We also advise banking clients on regulatory compliance within their product portfolios.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

We have long and wide-ranging experience acting for major banks and financial institutions in a wide variety of disputes and regulatory issues, both in Greece and internationally. We have deep and first-hand knowledge of the issues and challenges confronting in-house legal teams and the businesses they represent, with members of our team having taken secondments at various banks and financial institutions.