Alternative Finance and Crowdfunding

Operating in the alternative finance and crowdfunding space brings unique regulatory and structural challenges. We advise SME lenders, credit providers and intermediaries, crwodfunding service providers and alternative non-banking lenders with various regulatory solutions, including debt sales, forward-flow arrangements, credit unions, and security-based arrangements.

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have guided a challenger bank in structuring security for forward-flow purchases of debt claims.

  • We have assisted multiple platforms in securing licences as crowdfunding service providers.

  • We have drafted commercial agreements for a digital lending platform active in the Dutch market.

  • We have advised a major lender on debt sales and forward-flow structures.

  • We have helped a trade association for credit unions develop standardised legal documentation for its members, across both brokerage and banking models.

  • We have advised a Belgian payment institution on the regulatory aspects of innovative credit products.

  • We have advised a Dutch platform on regulatory compliance and commercial contracting.

  • We have assisted a major credit provider on the financial regulatory implications of its consumer lending offerings.

  • We have drafted financing and security documentation for intermediaries, including those operating under the crowdfunding framework.

Asset management and investment services

As an investment firm or asset manager operating across borders, you face an increasingly complex regulatory environment. Whether you are navigating the scope of your investment services under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MiFIR) and the Investment Firm Directive and Regulation (IFD/IFR), or the managing, offering and marketing of investment funds under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD/AIFMD II) and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS), we help you stay compliant and forward-looking. We also advise on related matters such as custody, asset segregation, and sustainability regulations.

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have advised a Solvency II-regulated insurer on reorganising its AIFMD-compliant intragroup mutual fund structure.

  • We have supported an investment firm running an MTF with a range of legal and regulatory requirements.

  • We have assisted a private equity client with the acquisition of a controlling stake in a Dutch investment firm.

  • We have advised an investment firm on regulatory compliance within frameworks including MiFID II.

  • We have guided a UK-based asset manager in the FinTech space on cross-border regulatory matters.

  • We have negotiated an asset management agreement between two financial market parties.

  • We have advised a major asset manager on the sale of part of its asset management activities to a global bank.

Banking and credit

Whether you are a (foreign) bank or financial service provider, we help you navigate through the Dutch regulatory landscape for banking and credit-related products and services. You can count on our expertise in key regulatory frameworks such as the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft), Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation (CRD/CRR), Consumer Credit Directive (CCD/CCD II), and Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD).

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have advised a foreign challenger bank on securing a European passport and setting up a Dutch branch.

  • We have assisted a UK-based credit provider with a license application process.

  • We have guided a challenger bank through structuring a froward flow agreement with a Dutch credit provider.

  • We have advised a major credit provider on the implications of its consumer credit offerings.

  • We have supported a PSP in launching a new funding method for merchants and consumers.

  • We have helped a challenger bank roll out this solution in the Dutch retail market.

Capital Markets

Entering the capital markets or raising financing involves complex regulatory and transactional challenges. Whether you are issuing securities, structuring debt or financing, or looking for insights on capital markets regulations, you need clear, strategic legal guidance. We help clients to comply with the Prospectus Regulation, public offering rules, and ongoing obligations related to transparency, short selling and market abuse (MAD/MAR).

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have assisted a FinTech company in obtaining an AFM-approved prospectus and completing its offering.

  • We have supported a HealthTech company in setting up a group financing structure involving the issuance of securities.

  • We have advised a Dutch bank on co-financing a project through debt issuance on a regulated crowdfunding platform.

Crypto Assets and Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

We advise crypto-asset service providers, issuers of crypto-assets and tokens, as well as established financial institutions on regulatory challenges under he Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR), the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Regulation, and traditional financial regulations, including the Markets Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), Payment Services Directive (PSD2), and Electronic Money Directive (EMD2). Our expertise also covers related topics such as Digital Operational Resiliece Act (DORA), integrity regulations, including AML/CTF and the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR).

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have assisted crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) with their licence applications.

  • We have advised a leading Dutch crypto-asset provider on the wind-down of its operations and the transfer of its customer portfolio to another CASP.

  • We have supported one of the largest crypto service providers in the Netherlands in obtaining Wwft registration.

  • We have advised a blockchain-based invoice financing platform on regulatory requirements for market entry.

Integrity and AML/CTF

As supervisory authorities ratchet up scrutiny of integrity regulations, organisations need rock-solid processes that can withstand supervisory invesigations and reputational risks.

We advise our clients on every facet of integrity regulation, including conflict-of-interest management, integrity risk assessments (SIRA), and compliance with the Dutch AML Act (Wwft), the Sanctions Act, and the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR).

Insurance

Whether you need assistance in navigating through the insurance distribution requirements under IDD, restructuring portfolios, or executing complex transactions, we provide the legal insight to help you move with confidence. We advise on regulatory and transactional matters — from portfolio transfers and fund structuring to investment mandates and private equity participation.

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have advised a Solvency II-regulated insurer on the restructuring of its AIFMD-compliant intragroup mutual fund structure.

  • We have supported a Dutch insurance group with financial regulatory matters, including the setup of a fund structure and asset management mandates.

  • We have assisted a private equity firm with its investment in a Dutch insurance intermediary group.

  • We have advised an insurance company on its participations in various private equity funds.

  • We have supported a Dutch insurer in the acquisition of several insurance portfolios through asset deals.

  • We have advised an insurance group on multiple transactions, including investments in portfolio companies and the acquisition of another insurance firm.

Payments & E-Money

In a landscape where fast-moving regulations can upend revenue models and delay product launches, businesses need clear, commercially focused guidance to stay compliant and ahead of the curve. Our team advises payment service providers (PSPs), fintechs and e-commerce platforms on the full spectrum of payment regulation, including Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and the upcoming framework under the revised Payment Services Directive and Regultion (PSD3/PSR), Electronic Money Directive (EMD2), Single Euro Payment Area Regulaton (SEPA), and the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) in relation to stablecoins, as well as emerging frameworks such as Digital Operational Resiliece Act (DORA) and Open Finance.

Examples of how we support clients like you:

  • We have assisted a payment service provider with the application for a license as an electronic money institution.

  • We have assisted a challenger bank in launching an innovative payment method for merchants and their customers in the Netherlands.

  • We have advised a Belgian payment institution on innovative consumer credit products. 

  • We have supported a party in discussions with the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) regarding the classification of its services as payment processing services.

  • We have assisted a party with its application to join various SEPA Schemes by providing the required legal advice to the European Payments Council.

  • We have advised a French payment service provider on offering credit and payment services in the Netherlands.