Financial Institutions and Finance

Iwata Godo, as a legal counsellor to many financial institutions in various fields of finance, including the central bank, major banks, local banks, trust banks, leading non-bank financial institutions, securities companies, and debt collection companies, has been long offering legal advice with a high degree of expertise and practical value on such matters as (i) regulations under various laws (e.g., the Bank of Japan Act, the Banking Act, the Trust Business Act, the Act on Engagement in Trust Business by a Financial Institution, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, the Money Lending Business Act, the Act on Sales in Instalments, the Insurance Business Act, the Act on Servicers ), orders, ordinances and guidelines, (ii) compliance and (iii) preparing for regulatory inspections. The attorneys of Iwata Godo have excellent expertise as well as experience in regulations surrounding financial institutions and are prepared to advise in this highly specialised regulatory environment, the result of frequent and continuous legislation and regulatory amendments.

Further with respect to regulation, Iwata Godo provides many financial institutions with such services as (i) advice on appropriate business procedures and structures, (ii) assistance in filing notifications and other required information to the regulatory authorities, and (iii) measures to deal with regulatory problems if any arise.
At the same time, Iwata Godo is increasingly setting up training opportunities for its attorneys through secondment to financial institutions, including a major bank and a trust bank, so that we can share with clients our knowledge of current issues in financial institutions, and always be prepared to propose solutions that meet the practical needs of today’s business.

Iwata Godo offers such services as legal and practical advice as well as documentation for development of schemes for (i) syndicated loans, (ii) securitization of real estate, (iii) securitization of financial claims such as bank lending claims, non-performing loans, housing loan claims, accounts receivable, claims on fees for medical treatment and nursing care, (iv) securitization of other assets, such as intellectual property and movables, including automobiles and ships, (v) project finance, (vi) PFIs, (vii) acquisition finance, including LBOs and MBOs and (viii) other newly developed financial instruments and products. We also provide similar services to resolve issues arising in the aftermaths of development of schemes and in exit strategies.

We have advised in response to requests from clients in various different positions in deals, including that of lenders providing senior loans, mezzanine loans and subordinated loans respectively, an originator, a developer, an arranger, a trustee, an asset management company, an investor not in the position of a lender, and a credit rating agency.

We also offer advice and documentation services to clients in their efforts to raise funds in capital markets through private and public offerings of bonds, shares and other financial instruments.

In recent years, through secondment of member attorneys to major financial institutions, we provide training opportunities for our attorneys to share awareness of current issues and learn about development and improvement of financial instruments, taking practical business requirements into consideration.

In providing legal and practical advice and documentation services in finance-related areas, we take the resolution of possible disputes into consideration and thus provide consistent advice, from development of the scheme to resolution of disputes in the aftermath. Founded upon our wealth of experience in the field of dispute resolution including litigation, we have a unique and thorough back-up system for clients.

With regard to non-life insurance, which was historically the first practice area of our firm, we have further developed our role as a pioneer in this field. We advise on regulations under the Insurance Business Act, assisting our clients in the development of their business models and plans in a manner consistent with regulatory requirements. The legal judgments in this work require a high level of expertise in the field, which we have.

Iwata Godo has contributed to the development of legal practice in non-life insurance in many areas, including litigation concerning insurance policy claims and insurance solicitation.

In the field of life insurance, we advise our life insurance clients on a large number of issues in the face of the increased complexity of financial regulations, including matters concerning life insurance solicitation such as collaboration with other financial institutions for over-the-counter sales of insurance at banks and expansion of sales channels through insurance agencies.