Bank supervision and bank regulation have made up a central focus of our advisory services for many years. We advise numerous foreign and domestic banking institutions, asset management firms as well as fund managers and other service providers related to the financial services industry.
Our advice not only includes the modeling and implementation of compensation systems but also many other HR topics at the intersection of employment and data protection law and compliance. One special focus of our expertise is therefore bonus and commission models and other forms of incentives as well as the overlapping HR topics touched on in the applicable regulatory provisions. Our material focus here includes:
- Implementation and ongoing advice on compensation systems at the crossroads between the Banking Act and Remunerations Regulations for Institutions on the one hand and co-determination rights and general employment law on the other
- Advice to foreign banks regarding their compensation systems in German branch offices and the integration of their local supervisory laws and German employment law
- Advice to asset management companies or fund managers in accordance with the Capital Investment Act, the AIFM Directive, the UCITS Directive and the ESMA Guideline for Sound Remuneration Policies, as well as to securities service providers and the providers of ancillary securities services in accordance with Chapter 8 of the Minimum Requirements on a Compliance Function (“MaComp”)
- Advice to other functions for the harmonization of banking supervisory requirements and requirements from the fields of data protection law and compliance such as MiFID II and employee data protection under the GDPR and the Federal Data Protection Act
The material content of these advisory services includes the following aspects:
- Design of compensation systems in the form of employment contracts, shop agreements and bonus policies
- Drafting of expert opinions, such as on the compliance of planned models with the requirements of supervisory bodies
- Counsel in litigation and defense against bonus claims before the labor courts
Our specialists for questions concerning compensation systems at banks and financial service providers are Caroline Bitsch and Dr. Thilo Mahnhold. Variable remuneration under employment and banking law has been the subject of several publications, both as Newsletters and client information events.
