The finance sector is one of the most important to the Cypriot economy. This is simply because of the large number of finance companies that operate in the country. If you have used an online brokerage to trade forex and commodities, there are chances that the brokerage is from Cyprus. Many banks and other financial companies are based in the Cyprus. In this article, we will look at some of the work done by banking and finance lawyers like Pavlaw.
Bankruptcy
Companies of all sizes go through bankruptcy and liquidation all the time. This happens when they are unable to pay their debt. A bank can go through liquidation when it is unable to honour its obligations to its customers. Banks use attorneys to ensure that their customers pay their money back. If the customers can’t do this, they can then file proceedings in a court of law to ensure that they are liquidated.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Companies are in a constant need for growth. To do this, companies can grow organically or by acquiring another company. The process of merging is usually long and delicate. This is because a company is acquiring a company that is run differently. It is also acquiring a company that has made some claims about its operations. For this reason, banks use lawyers to scrutinize the transactions. They also do use attorneys to get expert advise on the legal standing of the deals.
Legal Advisory
The finance sector is one of the most regulated in Cyprus. Banks and other finance companies must abide to the legal framework in the country. For example, these companies must abide to the MIFID regulations. These are laws that came into effect in 2018. There are other laws like the GDPR laws that companies must operate within. Also, there are laws to prevent money laundering. For this reason, banks and other finance companies must use services from lawyers. Attorneys explain to these companies everything they need so that they can operate within the law.
Investments
Finance companies are known for making investments of all sizes. They do this in two ways. First, they can offer debt financing. This is a process where they provide loans to companies. Second, they offer equity financing. This is a process where they provide funds to companies in turn for their equity or stake. To do this, lawyers are used to come up with the legal documents. They also do the due diligence to ensure that the deal is in accordance with the law.
Restructurings
Another service offered by Business Cyprus lawyers is restructurings. Restructuring is a process where a company decides to change how it operates. It does this when it wants to save its business or improve its profitability. For example, a company can lay off employees or sell some of its divisions. It can also sell some of its assets. To do this, finance companies use lawyers to ensure that everything is done legally.
Summary
Banking and finance lawyers are very important in Cyprus. They are needed because of various reasons as we have mentioned above. In most cases, banks and other finance firms use services from law firms instead of individual lawyers. Other work that banking and finance lawyers do are recovering of loans, letters of credit, derivatives, and acquisition finance among others.