Introduction

Besides profits, what’s the first thing a business craves? That’s right - funds. A decent cash inflow is the lifeblood of any business. What is the first place you think of when you need funds? Right again - a bank. Businesses’ need for funds is never going to see a backtrack and thus banking is an area which will always be there, as a corollary.

This is also why a well-functioning banking and financial services (BFSI) sector becomes crucial for any country, irrespective of the economic cycle - depression, recession, recovery or boom.   Unless there is a complete collapse of the economic system itself, work in the sector will continue to exist. 

However, given its impact on the economy, this sector is very heavily regulated. Owing to a high amount of regulation, the requirement for lawyers, Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, consultants and in-house business managers who can provide specialized services in this area is very high. 

For example, lawyers are needed for different kinds of contract-related work, in meeting compliance requirements and enforcement work in various tribunals and courts. Chartered Accountants (CAs) and Company Secretaries (CS) can provide different kinds of paperwork, valuation, certification and audit-related requirements. 

In-house lawyers who are well-versed with the nuances of this sector can assist their companies with identification of appropriate sources of finance, internal preparatory work, negotiation of lending documents and completion of all procedural requirements till money hits the account.  

The broad types of work performed by such professionals relates to: 

1. Structuring of different types of financial products and services to ensure these meet the regulatory requirements
2. Selection of appropriate sources of finance for different commercial purposes
3. Advisory services related to obtaining finance from cross-border sources
4. Periodic regulatory and compliance-related tasks
5. Drafting and negotiation of information memoranda, lending and security documents 
6. Due diligence and preparatory documentation work for loan preparedness
7. Enforcement and disputes-related work for lenders or for borrowers and guarantors, before various forums such as Debts Recovery Tribunal, Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal, National Company Law Tribunal  
8. Contract-related work for companies availing loans

Since the mid-1990s, major full-service corporate law firms have focussed on developing banking and finance as a key practice area. The work in these firms involves serving a variety of conglomerates with their financing needs from Indian and global banks and syndicates, assisting infrastructure companies with raising finance for different kinds of projects and assisting international financial institutions in providing finance to Indian banks.   

Apart from corporate law firms, banks and other companies in these sectors employ a high number of professionals in their in-house teams to deal with the huge volume of work. For example, ICICI bank’s in-house legal team, for which Lawsikho had prepared a training program, comprises 200 lawyers, which is larger than many full-service law firms. In-depth knowledge of banking and finance laws is a huge advantage in competing for these positions. 

Also, an in-house counsel’s role in these businesses has become increasingly important. In-house counsels were primarily considered to be intermediaries between litigators (for disputes work) and law firms (for advisory work and contracts). 

However, this notion is changing very fast. The work of an in-house counsel has become very specialized and attuned to the unique business model of the company where he or she works. In-house counsels often know more about the business than the law firm team.

Companies in the BFSI space prefer to have strong in-house teams so that they can perform specialized work at a lower cost. They prefer to restrict engagement of law firms only to matters where in-house expertise is not available. 

For professionals who want to work in-house, this is a great opportunity to perform meaningful work and have a stable and well-paying job. This offers in-house counsels, CAs and CS to harness opportunities to develop a high level of sectoral expertise and insights, which are unique and not found in firms.  

I’ll give you an example. Two years back, Policybazaar had just secured funding of INR 500 crores. Yashish Dahiya, its founder had stated that their legal, compliance and secretarial team was already 30 members strong!

In BFSI companies, there are often confidentiality considerations as well, which prevent them from engaging many external consultants. In fact, in order to be a consultant to such entities, you will have to pass through a thorough background check. But once you do enter their system, they are reluctant to change consultants too often. And hence, if you do possess the requisite expertise, you have a chance to be empanelled with such banks, thus, resulting in a source of regular income as well as bringing in visibility.

In today’s times, the fintech sector has a huge demand for in-house counsels, because financial services are gradually going digital. This requires in-house teams to have a sophisticated understanding of banking and finance and technology-related legislations. The work involved requires conceptualization of innovative business models with the promoters to ensure that it is in alignment with the regulatory framework, end-to-end alignment of business operations with regulatory requirements, close coordination with business and operations teams, data protection-related work, creation of various kinds of standardized contracts with customers and different vendors, KYC-related work and performance of various compliance requirements.  

Litigators also have an exciting range of opportunities. Disputes and litigation work in this area is specialized and complex, and a traditional civil or criminal litigator will require some specialized skill sets to develop and effectively serve clients in this sector, owing to the unique commercial jargon used in banking and finance contracts, rapid developments in RBI’s regulatory framework, developments in the fintech sector, frequent changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the NCLTs. 

How will the global recession and the COVID-19 lockdown impact banking and finance work? 

The COVID-19 phase and the lockdown globally has disrupted the global supply chain. It has adversely impacted hotels, travel, logistics and transport industry and manufacturing the most. As we are writing this page, banks have been asked to declare a three month moratorium on the repayment of the term loans by the borrowers and there are news of there being apparent gaps in the interpretation of the RBI circular in this regard. 

However, it isn’t like the recessionary trends will continue forever. Somewhere, the economic activity will have to resume and there are some fallouts of COVID-19 which India can look forward to. Globally, companies will look at alternate manufacturing hubs as they cannot afford to solely depend on China. The next best alternatives are India and a few other South Asian/ Southeast Asian economies. Due to availability of cheap labour and a high domestic demand and consumption capacity, India is well-poised to be a suitable manufacturing alternative. Infrastructure-development work is bound to resume- in fact, it is likely to accelerate, to propel India’s growth into a global supply chain hub.  

This will lead to increased investment by global corporations in India as they set up manufacturing subsidiaries and develop greenfield or brownfield investments, which may, in turn, increase the demand for funds and bring an upswing to the banking sector. Even where the businesses are struggling to get back to their feet, there will be ample restructuring transactions being planned and where these fail, recovery actions being put into action.  

Lawyers who want to effectively help clients in this scenario will need to have a sound understanding of contracts and disputes. In this environment, there will be a requirement for lawyers to possess an integrated understanding of contracts, pre-litigation drafting and enforcement and disputes-related work. 

Until now, lawyers either saw themselves as performing contract-related work, loosely thought of as work in the ‘corporate sector’, or disputes-related work, i.e. litigation. This dichotomy will become a barrier, and lawyers who possess such integrated skills will be able to offer greater value to clients as they can perform more complex tasks. They will be highly sought after. 

The fintech sector is another area which is going to witness a rapid scaling up. There is a lot of innovation in this space, which has accelerated since demonetization and the COVID-19 period. 

In the coming few years, this space is likely to see new market leaders emerge. Top venture capitalists are increasing their focus on this sector. 

Sachin Bansal invested a significant portion of the USD 1 billion exit amount received from Walmart in his new investment firm Navi Ventures, which is investing in fintech startups.  

RBI’s regulations in this sector are evolving fast to accommodate innovation and control risk in this sector. New business models are also emerging, which take into account the unique needs of the Indian population. 

This sector, therefore, requires constant legal assistance. Serving these startups offers terrific opportunities for lawyers, consultants and professionals as financial inclusion, digital payments and innovative financial services. 

Who should take this course

• Lawyers who want to build a banking and finance practice in their law firm 
• Lawyers who want to work in the banking and finance or project finance practice of corporate law firms
• Lawyers who want to work as in-house counsels, especially in a bank, an NBFC or a fintech company
• In-house counsels of a large corporate group or conglomerates
• Litigators who want to represent public and private sector banks, NBFCs through retainerships or be on their panels
• Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries who want to provide additional value to clients by offering specialized services around raising finance.  
• Managers who want to take up additional responsibility by assisting their organization with obtaining and negotiating finance, or to shift to new positions 
• Business consultants who want to provide specialized consultancy services around raising finance to their existing and new clients
• Recovery agents, who have been working in the recovery area for a while and wish to acquire a deeper understanding of the internal functioning of banks and banking

What is the career potential after doing this course

• You can work in a full service corporate law firm. Corporate law firms have two major departments for which you will be especially trained - project finance and banking and finance. Young lawyers struggle to understand the industry and therefore face challenges in performing everyday tasks. They also struggle to understand the big picture and commercials behind a large deal. In fact, even after a few years of experience, their understanding of the banking and finance industry and the legal work required is piecemeal. This course provides a systematic understanding of the industry and the skills required to perform specific legal tasks.
• You can work as an in-house counsel in a bank or an NBFC. Due to the high volume of regulation, banks and financial companies have larger in-house legal teams than other companies. 
• You will also acquire the skill sets to work as an in-house counsel of a large corporate group. In-house counsels of a large corporate group (Indian or global) need to be well-versed in banking and finance laws to be able to assist the group entities with obtaining finance for their regular business needs and with project finance, if the company is in the infrastructure sector. 
• You can work as an in-house counsel of a fintech startup. The fintech space is witnessing rapid innovation post demonetization, and the COVID-19 lockdown has further accelerated this shift. As an example, Sachin Bansal is reported to have invested USD 450 million of the USD 1 bn exit amount he received from Walmart into his new investment firm Navi Technologies, which is making investments into the fintech space. We will continue to see fintech businesses rapidly scale up in the coming months and years. These fintech startups are in need of lawyers to perform a variety of regulatory, structuring and compliance-related work. They are also capable of rapidly scaling up, which is why this is a very important area for lawyers. As a lawyer who is well-versed in banking and finance laws, you will find yourself in a unique position to work for fintech startups, either as an independent lawyer/ freelancer or as an in-house counsel, as per your preference. You can also build an independent consultancy practice to advise fintech startups on different aspects.  
• Independent lawyers and even in-house lawyers can help startups in availing benefits of various schemes initiated by the government to provide loans and benefits to SMEs. Most startups are in need of finance but do not know how to obtain it owing to the heavy paperwork involved. The government has initiated several schemes to provide different types of secured and unsecured loans to SMEs. A lawyer’s work in this area relates to identification of a relevant scheme, assisting through the application process which can be fairly complex and in advising entrepreneurs/founders about the commercial implications of the terms. Lawyers who do not understand the unique regulatory framework for the banking sector and lending and security documentation cannot advise startups in this area. 
• If you are a litigator, you can be eligible to apply for openings to be on the panel of a private or public sector bank. Banks maintain a panel of litigators for enforcement-related matters for different forums and jurisdictions. Being on the panel offers you tremendous reputational benefits, enhances credibility in the opinion of clients, a stable volume of work and significant face-time before the court to build your credibility as an arguing counsel. You can continue to work on independent matters as well, as long as there is no conflict. 
• Litigators can also represent corporate clients and their borrowers in connection with loan documentation work or enforcement-related matters at different forums such as the Debt Recovery Tribunal or the National Company Law Tribunal. As a litigator, you can represent borrowers or promoters who have provided guarantees against enforcement actions initiated by the bank in respect of defaults. 

Potential employers

• Law firms
• Public and private sector banks (domestic and foreign)
• International financial institutions
• Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)
• Infrastructure companies
• Large conglomerates which frequently seek finance for their group or projects

What is unique about this course

• Most law schools, LLMs and executive programs focus on training you on the Banking Regulation Act, case laws and international developments on the banking sector such as Basel norms, capital adequacy, etc. This course does not focus on teaching you the provisions of the statute and case laws, but on the real work performed by lawyers in this sector. 
• You will learn in depth about how exactly the borrowing and lending transactions are negotiated, what are the transaction structures, what are the transaction documents involved and what are the kinds of specific clauses these have. Unless someone has been privy to a large number of borrowing transactions, this kind of specialised insights are not something which is easily available.
• You will also learn about different modes of recovery and be able to identify and compare the pluses and minuses. Lawyers who used to work in the recovery area have migrated to a good extent to IBC, but very few are adept and well aware of what happens inside the bank before a recovery or insolvency matter is handed to them. Securing this knowledge can help in identifying the priorities and pain points of the client which helps a litigator function better.
• If you’re a lawyer advising an in-house counsel for banks, prepare to be challenged, since in-house counsels in this sector can be highly demanding. It might become embarrassing for you if you end up not knowing the banking terminology. For instance, how many lawyers can be expected to know what a ‘risk scenario’ is? This course has been prepared with inputs from experts who have been involved with the banking sector on a regular basis and thoroughly understand the terminology and will give you their all through the online classes.
• Being aware of the banking industry may even help you to identify specific pain points which the businesses who are the customers of banks or NBFCs face and help with assisting the fintech sector entities in developing new products or adding on to their existing products. The fintech sector is also going to see constant changes in regulatory requirements through the regulations, notifications and circulars of the Reserve Bank of India. This course can be your introduction to the regulatory regime applicable to fintech entities. 
• Besides the unique content and the online classes, you will also perform exercises which put you in simulated situations which you are likely to face while advising banks or NBFCs or fintech entities or make you draft and review core banking contracts hands-on. 
• In addition to the skill based exercises, you will also learn about how to build your profile and social media presence step by step, so that by the time you complete the course, you have successfully garnered a social media audience relevant to your skills and whom you can network with, in order to get employment or business.
• Those who perform well will also receive placement assistance from us as under:

We give our students foundational support with building their resume.

We provide mentorship and career guidance and help students evaluate their skills to pick the right career opportunities for themselves.

Our team helps our students in building their profile on LinkedIn to increase their reach to the potential recruiters.

Our expert guides the students on how to crack any interview.

On demand, we provide mock interviews for our students looking for jobs.

We share multiple Internship/recruitment opportunities every week on our Whatsapp group.

We help our students to get internships not only at law firms and chambers, but also with rising startups in diverse sectors.

Our mentorship helps students to avoid running the rat race behind the regular job openings; rather we help them design their own path based on their personal interests.

Money back guarantee

If you take this course, follow it diligently for a month, do all the exercises but still do not find value in it, or not able to understand or follow it or not find it good for any reason, we will refund the entire course fee to you. It is a 100% money-back guarantee with only one condition, you must pursue it properly for a month. If you don’t find it valuable after that, get your entire money back.

View Refund Policy

Training Methodology

Online 24/7 access

Access to basic study material through online learning management system, Android and iOS app

Hard Copy Study Material

Hard copy study material modules to be couriered to your address

Practical Exercises

2 practical exercises every week, followed by written feedback

Live Online Classes

Based on the exercises, there will be a live video based online class. You can ask questions, share your screen, get personal feedback in this class.

Convenient Class timings

Classes are held after regular work hours. Typically classes are kept on Sunday afternoon or 8-9 pm on other days.

Live Doubt Clearing

You can ask questions, get your doubt cleared live as well as through online forums

What will you learn

• You will learn the basic guidelines for drafting including how to structure and arrange your drafts while maintaining the flow and keeping the recipient in mind;
• You will learn in depth about the construction and different parts of a contract and understand the importance of each part as well as how to draft these clauses for different types of contracts relevant to the banking sector;
• You will learn precisely what you need to do to ensure that your contract is enforceable, including the stamping, notarisation, attestation, apostille etc.
• You will learn negotiation techniques which can be used for the purpose of arriving at a desired solution with the lawyers of the opposite party;
• You will learn which are the different types of financing facilities provided by the banks including long term and short term i.e. working capital facilities to enable a client to determine which would be the most appropriate or if you are in the in-house legal department of a bank, to review the product from the point of view of applicable regulations. 
• You will also learn the various regulations applicable to banks in order to be able to determine their role and the boundaries within which they should operate for the purpose of various transactions such as lending, foreign direct investment, guarantees etc.
• You will get a complete overview of the various recovery mechanisms which can be deployed by the banks such as securitisation, approaching the Debt Recovery Tribunal, initiating insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, filing and learn how to select the appropriate recovery mechanism for different types of borrowers.
• In addition to the above, you will also learn about how fintech entities operate as well as the regulations applicable to the fintech entities such as Phone Pe, Udaan etc.

Specific Learning Objectives

• Learn how any contract is drafted and the different parts of contracts, the relevance of each of the different types of clauses and how these can be drafted to benefit your client;
• Learn how contracts should be reviewed and how you can identify what exactly in the clauses needs to be altered to suit your requirements;
• Learn how to redline contracts received from the other party to the transaction;
• Learn negotiation skills, which can help you to turn things to your advantage not only in contract related negotiations, but practically any and every business transaction that you may be a part of;
• Learn which clauses of contracts are introductory, which are operative and which are boilerplate;
• Learn precisely what conditions precedent, conditions subsequent and completion clauses are and how these are relevant;
• Learn about obligations and payment related clauses, different ways in which these can be drafted and the pitfalls in drafting these;
• Learn what breach and enforcement related clauses are and the best way to draft these;
• Learn precisely what legal requirements would be applicable to your specific contract such as stamping, registration, notarisation, attestation and apostille.
• Learn how contracts are executed and how to secure the correct authorisation for the execution of contracts;
• Learn how to draft emails to external consultants and also how to present your findings to your seniors in a banking set up;
• Learn about different types of standard financing facilities offered by the banks and agreements entered into for such facilities;
• Learn about what working capital facilities are and learn what fund based and non-fund based facilities are;
• Learn about the various ways in which security is provided to the banks and the transaction documents which are required to be entered into in order to provide and perfect the security;
• Learn what contractual comforts are and how these work;
• Learn how Indian banks can be involved in external commercial borrowings and how external commercial borrowings work;
• Learn about which clauses are specifically used in lending contracts and how these are drafted as well as implications of such clauses;
• Learn what internal authorisations a borrower requires in order to ensure that availing the loan does not result in violating the Companies Act, 2013, the borrower’s constitution documents or other restrictions;
• Learn how to draft clauses of syndicate loan agreements;
• Learn about which regulations apply to banks and NBFCs and also about the specific directions of RBI on banking activities;
• Learn about what the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 encompasses and how this knowledge is relevant for bankers;
• Learn how foreign direct investment in companies work and learn what role Authorised Dealer banks play in it;
• Learn about how overseas direct investment is made and what role Authorised Dealer banks play in it;
• Learn how guarantees, letters of credit and standby letters of credit work, in relation to import-export transactions;
• Learn exactly how you can stay updated and on top of the many and varied regulations governing the BFSI sector;
• Learn why the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) was needed and how it compares to other recovery related mechanisms such as SARFAESI and RDBA;
• Learn important concepts of IBC such as debt, financial debt and different types of creditors;
• Learn about how insolvency can be initiated as a financial creditor and how the admission of the application works;
• Learn about the extent of applicability of the moratorium upon admission of the insolvency application;
• Learn about the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) and what exactly they are supposed to do;
• Learn about how the Committee of Creditors is formed, what it is supposed to achieve and how it takes decisions;
• Learn about how claims are submitted and what to do when these are rejected by the RP;
• Learn how to initiate proceedings against the personal guarantors to corporate debtors and the pros and cons of filing insolvency claims against the company vis a vis those against the personal guarantors;
• Learn about how an information memorandum is prepared and an expression of interest is drafted;
• Learn about who can and cannot become a resolution applicant;
• Learn how resolution plans are drafted and what are the strategic consideration in drafting these;
• Learn about the avoidable transactions and the lookback period on such avoidable transactions;
• Learn about how the liquidation process works in the event that the NCLT does not approve the resolution plan;
• Learn about how exactly the security can be enforced under the SARFAESI Act;
• Learn how to draft demand and possession notices under SARFAESI as well as replies to demand notices;
• Learn how to draft and review a Section 19 application by the bank under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993;
• Learn how to draft a notice of dishonour of cheque and a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881;
• Learn how to deal with complaints against banks under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019;
• Learn how summary suits can be filed by banks and NBFCs to enforce retail loans;
• Learn about how share and debenture pledges can be enforced;
• Learn about how loans can be converted into equity shares;
• Learn about the different methods of debt restructuring and how these work;
• Learn about who recovery agents are, how to become a recovery agent and what work recovery agents do;
• Learn and understand how rescue finance or interim finance works and what are the risks of using interim finance in terms of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016;
• Learn about what legal issues impact payment gateways, mobile banking and other payment systems;
• Learn about how e-wallets and payment instruments work and their convertibility into cash;
• Learn about how fintech entities use artificial intelligence and machine learning and how this use is regulated/facilitated by the regulators.

Recruitment and Internship Support

We are the only organization in India with such comprehensive and exercise-based training methodology for courses. Many employers, law firms and companies are happy to recruit our high performing students. If you do well in your exercises and classes, we can help you to get jobs, internships and assessment internships in good law firms, with renowned lawyers as well as in various companies.

List of Weekly Exercises

• Amend the language, structure, chronological arrangement and formatting in a given draft contract. Use a redlining to do this.
• Draft an email to an external lawyer requesting a quote for specific services to be provided to the bank. 
• Draft a reply to a show cause notice received by the bank.
• Map a simple term sheet with an agreement.
• Identify the type of agreement to be entered into on the basis of the facts provided and draft operative clauses for such agreement.
• Draft boilerplate clauses for different types of contracts.
• Identify the requirements for the proper execution and enforceability of a contract (including stamping) and on the basis of the facts provided, identify if a contract is properly executed.
• Identify negotiation points for an NDA in cases where a bank is both a disclosing party and a receiving party.
• Identify the type of facility on the basis of the facts provided. Also list the regulations applicable to such a facility.
• Draft specific clauses of a syndicate loan agreement
• Identify whether external commercial borrowings can be availed of, on the basis of facts provided and identify the restrictions applicable to the transaction.
• Draft specific clauses of a deed of hypothecation & review specific clauses from the point of view of the borrower
• Draft specific clauses of a mortgage deed & review specific clauses from the point of view of the borrower
• Draft specific clauses of a share pledge agreement & review specific clauses from the point of view of the promoter pledging his shares
• Draft specific clauses of a Non-Disposal Undertaking (NDU) & a Power of Attorney (POA)
• Draft specific sections of a Corporate Guarantee
• Draft a Guarantee invocation notice from the bank
• Identify the steps for the creation of charges under the Companies Act, 2013 and the perfection of charges
• Identify the steps for due diligence on the property being proposed to be mortgaged
• Draft specific clauses in the loan agreement on the basis of the facts provided
• Identity whether certain specific events would be considered an “event of default” under a loan agreement and the consequences of such events
• Identify whether a particular transaction shall require the approval of the shareholders of a borrower, based on the facts provided
• Identify the restrictions applicable to a specific transaction in terms of the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act and the circulars issued by RBI
• Identify the restrictions on sectoral caps applicable in case of a specific FDI transaction
• Identify whether certain transactions can be permissible in terms of the applicability of the relevant law for FDI in e-commerce
• Identify what the authorised dealer bank should check in relation to an overseas direct investment transaction
• Identify the suitable forum for recovery and dispute resolution for a bank in view of given facts.
• Also list down the specific steps or make a flowchart for the steps you need to follow in order to initiate proceedings before a given forum.
• Draft an application on behalf of a financial creditor to initiate insolvency proceedings
• Draft a demand notice to be sent to the corporate debtor and the guarantor
• Draft a proof of claim for a financial creditor
• Draft the instructions for the committee of creditors to arrive at a decision by electronic voting
• Draft an invitation for an expression of interest and an expression of interest
• Identify if the entities specified can become resolution applicants on the basis of the facts provided
• Identify the avoidable transactions and their consequences
• Draft a resolution plan
• Identify the next steps required in the case the committee of creditors approves the resolution plan
• Identify the next steps in the event that the committee of creditors rejects the resolution plan
• Identify the steps for the liquidation of the company
• Draft an application for initiation of insolvency of personal guarantor to corporate debtor
• Draft a demand notice and possession notice in the event of invoking security under the SARFAESI
• Draft a reply to a demand notice in case of SARFAESI
• Draft a Section 19 application by the bank under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993
• Learn how to draft a notice of dishonour of cheque
• Draft a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
• Identify whether a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act can be instituted against a bank on the basis of facts and circumstances provided
• Draft a consumer complaint against a banking fraud
• Identify the steps for conversion of loans into equity shares
• Draft a complaint under RBI’s ombudsman scheme for digital payments