Banking and Finance

As an Accredited Paralegal, you are required to demonstrate competence in your chosen area of practice as well as the general competencies and standards of conduct.

Below are competencies, skills, knowledge and understanding, and legislation specific to the Banking and Finance practice area.

Competencies

You should be able to demonstrate competency and understanding in:

  • Companies House forms and/or RoS/[HMLR]* forms accurately
  • Board minutes, resolutions and other corporate authorisations
  • Manager/responsible officer certificates and transfer documentation (including stock transfer forms)
  • Legal opinions (both capacity only and capacity and authority & enforcement, domestic and foreign)
  • Finance transaction documentation based on standard template documents and commercial term sheet information
  • Discharge and Release documentation
  • Support those managing completion funds flow
  • Completion requirements including signing protocols and satisfaction of conditions precedent
  • Carry out anti money laundering and Person with Significant Control risk management processes

Skills, knowledge and understanding

You should be able to demonstrate knowledge, understanding and awareness of:

  • Common Financing Structures in relevant financing sectors (retail, corporate, commercial/SME, investment, project, acquisition etc)
  • Purpose of facility, guarantee, inter-creditor and security documents and the common methods of their enforcement
  • Purpose and scope of legal opinions utilised in finance transactions (capacity & authority and enforceability)
  • Different types of security interest in Scotland (and England*), their key operative provisions and the key requirements for ensuring validity and enforceability.
  • Companies House and Registers of Scotland search & registration requirements regarding security and intercreditor arrangements (including registration requirements for property security interests (heritable, leasehold, moveable and incorporeal).
  • Memorandums and articles of association, model articles and shareholder and board resolution
  • Ranking and meaning of various financial instruments (e.g. floating charges).
  • Particular issues for certain types of borrowers (Public & Private Limited companies, LLPs, Limited Partnerships, general partnerships, pension schemes, trusts, housing associations, charities etc).
  • Execution and delivery of documents and related issues
  • The significance of all anti-money laundering risk management processes and regulations
  • Procedures to ensure compliance with legal and statutory requirements and ability to implement any changes
  • Different types of business structure (including, but not limited to, companies, partnerships and LLPs)
  • Differences between regulated and unregulated lending
  • Corporate/fund group structure and relationship between companies in group
  • Implications and/or risks of advice given to client(s).
  • Circumstances requiring consideration to be given when entering administration, liquidation or sequestration
  • Awareness that a transaction / resolution / mortgage may be reduced or void where statutory deadlines are breached or there is a failure to register
  • Awareness of any code of professional conduct policy that exists within organisation
  • Awareness of anti-bribery and corruption policies
  • Knowledge of Practical Law Company Online systems (or any other replacement system)

Legislation

You are required to demonstrate knowledge, understanding and familiarity with the legislation relevant to this area.  This requires being aware of the continuing changes to current legislation and rules and the introduction of new legislation and rules.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the areas relevant to Banking and Finance work:

  • Partnerships Act
  • Limited Partnerships Act
  • Companies Acts
  • Limited Liability Partnerships
  • Financial Services and Markets, Financial Services Act, Bank of England and Financial Services Act (and where appropriate the relevant elements of the PRA Rulebook/FCA Handbook including MCOBS and relevant Basel Rules, including on capital adequacy)
  • Enterprise Act
  • Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
  • Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Files (information on Payer) Regulations
  • Insolvency Act
  • Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act
  • Consumer Credit Act
  • Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act

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