Banking and Finance Law in India

Finance and Banking law extends to include anything money related, from business venture deals to loans. This area of the law covers several legal jurisdictions across the world. It largely focuses on the relationship between the borrowers and the lenders, to ensure that the interests of the borrowers are met in the eyes of law and as a commercial law firm. There are several areas of the law which a lawyer can get involved in namely, bank lending, property finance, derivatives, capital markets and acquisition finance. Corporate finance law also includes company law, contract law, corporate insolvency law and securities, and takeovers, which has become a popular area of the law today. With the emergence of start-ups and entrepreneurs, the growth of such companies and mergers with larger companies has been a key area to explore under corporate finance law. 

The role of a banking and finance lawyer is to represent the interests of a lender or the borrower in the contractual relationship between the two and focus on the monetary aspect of the deal between the two. Lawyers in this field are often engaged in conducting due diligence themselves and have a good knowledge and grasp on the transactional aspect of such contracts. Since there are several areas of business and finance law, a lawyer specializes in one particular area after exploring 4-5 areas upon joining the firm. A banking and finance lawyer is also required to adhere to regulations and laws across different jurisdictions while assisting lenders or borrowers. Since most of the work occurs across different jurisdictions, it is imperative to have a good understanding of the global markets. 

Another requirement of being a banking and finance lawyer is to have keen attention to detail and the fine print of transactional contracts. It is imperative to have commercial awareness and detailed knowledge of types of loans, with a strong personality of social skills to interact with clients. Lawyers additionally also are involved with innovation in bringing solutions and using complicated financial models to address the problems that arise during business contracts. Working at a banking and finance firm can involve one to engage in cross financing, where teams need to work on deals together. Additionally, bankruptcy laws are a key area of law that most lawyers have to be familiar with, to account for the worst-case scenario while dealing with business-related contracts. While partners of a firm work on developing new clients or maintaining the existing ones and working on various transactions, associates deal with the day to day affairs of drafting documents and coordinating reviews. 

Banking and Finance Law Firms:

In India, there are various banking and finance law firms that one can apply to, as the field is seen as one of importance in understanding the commercial aspect of a contract. Trilegal has several offices across the country and its banking and finance practice have been shaped by several experiences individuals working at the firm. Its areas of expertise include acquisition finance, project, and leveraged finance, debt restricting, syndicated lending, and structured products, as mentioned in their website. Their clients extend to the private sector and public sector banks, multinationals, non-banking companies, and several other financial institutions. The India Business Law Journal has also given them the feedback that “Trilegal is extremely analytical, service-oriented and give advice promptly”. They have also had key accomplishments in projects such as being India’s first “leveraged buyout”. They have worked with key banks such as ICICI, State Bank of India, etc.

Firms in India like AmarchandMangaldas, Sagar Associates, AZB & Partners, Juris Corp, etc. all have placed in the Asia-Pacific Rankings as top tier law firms to work in the banking and finance sector. Moreover, at Khaitan& Co, the banking and finance team have worked on famous deals with banks like Bank of Baroda, Standard Chartered Bank of London, etc. In the US, McGuire Woods has earned the topic law firm of the year award back in 2018 for banking and finance, with 22 practice areas under banking and finance. The firm has received this award for three years, which depicts their record of strong service in the banking and finance sector, with special emphasis in corporate and litigation matters.

Firms like Norton Rose Fullbright, Hogan Lovells and Latham and Watkins, few examples of firms in the UK and the US who now have offices all across the world, have incredible banking and finance teams. 

Lawyers at Latham and Watkins represent investment banks, lenders, financial institutions, corporate borrowers and private equity firms, with the global banking, practice being the largest amongst any law firm. It is recognized for its “stellar banking and finance group, with an extensive global footprint to offer clients a high-quality network of teams” by Chambers Global in 2020. Moreover, Hogan Lovells engages in lending trans

actions, credit and bank products, deal structures and various other secured transactions to meet their goal. They also offer financial services while recognizing that financial technology is leading to an alteration in service delivery and regulation is evolving and responding. Most firms today have a strong banking and finance department, which interested lawyers can apply to, with a strong academic background and knowledge on finance and business. 

This article is written by Sanya Sharma first-year law student from Durham University