Licensing and Financial Regulation
Our Firm’s Licensing and Financial Regulation team advises clients on a wide-range of issues, such as regulatory issues affecting permissibility of activities and investments; anti-money laundering compliance; regulatory investigations and enforcement actions; regulatory processes for the transfer of assets in banks( including affiliated transfers).
We advise internationally active clients not only on entering the profitable business of trading foreign currencies but also on a broad scale of cross-border issues. We deal with the obtaining of licenses of any kind of funds CIF Companies through CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) being the financial services regulatory body in Cyprus, including the preparation, drafting and submission of the application to CySEC in addition to the on-going post-submission support and up to the granting of the EU MiFID II CySEC license (European Market in Financial Investments Directive) which authorises as a result the Investment Firm to provide investment services in the EU.
Our Firm can help you obtain:
- a Cyprus Investment Firm License from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
- an EU (European Union) Investment Firm License from any other EU Authority
- an E-Money (Electronic Money) or Payment Institution License from the Central Bank of Cyprus or any other EU Authority
- a Fund Manager License (AIFM or UCITS Management Company) as well as a license or registration for Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) or UCITS funds from CySEC or any other EU Authority
- a Banking License from the Central Bank of Cyprus or any other EU Authority
All our licensing services include:
- Consulting on the form of a financial group’s presence in Cyprus and the rest of the EU
- Advisory support towards the authorisation and registration of an EU financial institution;
- Preparation of the Application File in accordance with current regulatory requirements to include the following activities, among others:
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- Design and build the financial institution structure based on your needs (in a cost-efficient way);
- Prepare a custom-built Operations Manual in the most efficient manner and based on your needs;
- Prepare the Anti-Money Laundering Manual (AML) and the Know Your Client (KYC) policies in the most efficient manner and based on your needs;
- Prepare the business plan;
- Complete the application form to be submitted to the relevant EU regulatory authority;
- Review the questionnaires of the shareholders, directors and heads of departments of the proposed financial institution;
- Locate qualified executive and non-executive directors (if needed);
- Complete the relevant checklists;
- Prepare necessary justifications to be submitted to the relevant EU regulatory authority, as applicable;
- Prepare the letter(s) to accompany the application in the event that any exception may be requested;
- Guide you in providing all the necessary documentation and certificates;
- Answer any relevant questions concerning the application process, and;
- Respond on your behalf to the Authority’s queries and suggestions relating to the application.
- CIF/IF/Bank/EMI/PI registration after the authorization; and
- Locating qualified Directors and personnel.