Banking and financial law

The law firm GIACCARDI & BREZZO Avocats works with banks, portfolio management companies and insurance companies:

• Restructuring

• High added-value financial activities, equity capital operations

• Creation, purchase or sale of banks

• Financing operations, including syndicated loans

• Compliance with regulations, particularly in prudential matters

• Drafting and modification of standard contractual documentation

• Assistance in the settlement of disputes with clients

• Judicial litigation

Monegasque banking and financial law

The Monegasque financial law is mainly governed by the following texts: Law No. 1.338 of September 7, 2007 on  financial activities and Implementing Ordinance No.1.284 of September 10, 2007, on financial activities; Law No.1.339 of September 7, 2007 on mutual funds and investment funds and Implementing Ordinance No.1.285 of September 10, 2007, on mutual funds and investment funds.

 Under the Monetary Agreement of November 29, 2011 between Monaco and the European Union, the laws of the European Union that appear in Appendix A are applicable in the Principality as soon as they are incorporated into French law.

Thus, the regulatory and prudential organisation of banks is ruled by the French monetary and financial Code.

By contrast, relations between the bank and its clients are governed by the Monegasque law.

Because  two systems of laws can be applied, Monegasque banks are subject to imperative constraints imposed by the French and Monegasque supervisory authorities.

The Principality implements legal provisions equivalent to those of the European Union laws listed in Annex B of the Monetary Agreement, such as the “Anti-Money Laundering Package” (Regulation (EU) 2015/847 and Directive (EU) 2015/849) itself aligned with the revised FATF recommendations on combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of October 2015 (Law No. 1.462 of 28 June 2018 amending in particular Law No. 1.362 of 3 August 2009).

The Monegasque Financial Institutions also have due diligence obligations under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard on Financial Accounts (CRS).

The Principality is party to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and the Multilateral Agreement between Competent Authorities on Financial Accounts. The TAXUD Agreement provides the legal and operational basis for the automatic exchange of financial account information between Monaco and the Member States of the European Union.