Regulation / Financial Regulation

Financial regulation worldwide, including in Israel, is grounded in a set of core principles: managing and preventing conflicts of interest between service providers and customers, ensuring the stability of financial service providers and preventing systemic damage, and safeguarding service providers’ capacity and reliability.

Based on these principles, each country has developed its own regulatory framework governing the financial sector. Within these frameworks, service providers must obtain licenses, permits, and registrations. However, emerging and evolving technologies are challenging existing supervisory mechanisms and regulators, creating increasing regulatory uncertainty.

In this context, our financial regulation practice leverages a deep understanding of the regulatory environment to help clients navigate complexity and make informed decisions under conditions of uncertainty.

Barnea’s Regulation Department is uniquely qualified in this sector, offering intelligent, creative, highly professional, and innovative legal services. The department advises Israeli and global banks, insurance companies, large investment firms, small portfolio managers, boutique investment consulting and marketing firms, traditional and emerging non-bank credit providers, conventional securities trading platforms, digital asset platforms (including NFTs, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchain-based assets), e-wallet providers, fintech companies, P2P platforms, and more. We support these entities in complying with all applicable regulations governing their financial activities in Israel and abroad. Our counsel is grounded in deep familiarity with relevant regulatory bodies, the latest guidelines, and sectoral trends.  

We guide our clients through complex processes such as the adoption of new financial technologies, regulatory due diligence across a wide range of transactions, financial and other licensing, the development of compliance programs, and the design and structuring of complex agreements with financial technology providers.  

The team also advises companies and their senior officers on limiting exposure to legal claims and sanctions, aligning internal processes with applicable laws and regulations (including anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements), and effectively implementing business strategies.

Dr. Zvi Gabbay, who heads the practice, is ranked by the prestigious Chambers guide among Israel’s leading lawyers in Banking and Finance: Regulation.