Building a Career in Banking Law

 What Is Banking & Finance Law?

Before you even think about embarking on a career as a banking and finance lawyer, you should be familiar with what banking and finance law is all about. It involves a broad array of financial transactions that include small-scale personal loans to multi-billion-dollar business transactions. Here are some of the basics that you should know before looking further into banking and finance law as a career opportunity.

One of the main areas of focus of banking and finance law is the contractual arrangement between the lender and the borrower. The financial lawyer’s goal is to make sure that both sides of the financial transaction have their interests represented and that both parties are in compliance with commercial norms and government regulations. Below is a further breakdown of the areas of specialization that banking and finance lawyers can specialize in.

Bank lending is a vast field in banking law that involves banks lending money to individuals through personal loans and to businesses through business loans. The banking lawyer helps craft documents that spell out the loan terms and what constitutes repayment and default.

Another common field in finance law is property finance. It involves loans sought by individuals or businesses to obtain property to live in or develop. The vast majority of property finance transactions are called mortgages. A mortgage is where a person is given money to get title to the land or building and must repay the lender the loan plus interest. The lender usually holds the property as collateral until the mortgage is paid off.

Besides bank lending and property finance, there are many other fields in banking and finance law. Project finance involves the financing of public projects such as roads and bridges. Acquisition finance is when money is given to one firm to help it acquire another firm. Capital markets are when corporations issue bonds in exchange for cash to be used for company operations. The field of banking and finance law is vast and offers plenty of opportunities.

Where The Route To A Career In Banking & Finance Law Starts

Regardless of which field in banking and finance law you will want to specialize in, you will need to have a legal education and background to practice as a banking and finance lawyer. Besides a legal education, a banking and finance lawyer should have a good understanding of the different kinds of loans and be able to comprehend the fine print contained in financial transactions. Being able to explain the terms of financial deals to clients coherently is another requirement that banking lawyers must do. If you have the legal education and knowledge or think you can obtain it, becoming a banking and finance lawyer might be the career path for you.