Senior Legal Counsel - Markets & Securities

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About Us

HBME is the HSBC group’s principal operating subsidiary in the MENAT region, headquartered in the Dubai International Financial Centre and with branch offices in Dubai, the Abu Dhabi Global Markets, Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.  Elsewhere in the MENAT region, HSBC is present in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

In MENAT, the MSS business line is constituted by:

• Global Markets, which provides the following services to its customers: financing solutions; sales, trading and distribution across multiple asset classes; research; and clearing and settlement;
• Markets Treasury, which provides support and services to the dealing rooms of its branch network in the MENAT region; and
• Securities Services, which provides global and local custody and asset servicing in the MENAT region to investors and global custodians from across the world.

The Role

As a Senior Markets Lawyer, you’ll provide strategic, pragmatic legal advice to support the MSS business across the MENAT region, working closely with key stakeholders across trading, sales, structuring, compliance, finance, tax, operations and senior management.

You will work with a broad range of stakeholders, including trading, sales, structuring, regulatory compliance, finance, tax, operations and senior management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Advising on legal issues relating to FX and OTC derivatives, loan hedging, repos, stock lending, margin loans, repack transactions, Islamic finance (FX, derivatives, repo and money markets), debt issuance programmes, structured note issuances, ESG repos and derivatives, digital assets and regulatory capital issuances (AT1 and Tier 2).
• Drafting and negotiating a range of agreements relating to financial markets matters.
• Preparing and presenting legal submissions to the bank’s global netting committee on the enforceability of netting, set-off and collateral in MENAT under conventional and Islamic financial markets products.
• Providing legal support on the impact of regulatory matters on the MSS business, such as margin rules, financial collateral regulations, benchmarks, SFTR, CSDR and product governance for structured products.
• Supporting our custody business across MENAT.
• Advising on the legal issues associated with the roll out of new products across MSS in MENAT.
• Representing HBME at industry meetings in the region, such as ISDA, ICMA and ISDA/IIFM.
• Advising on matters that may be complex or novel.
• Be a trusted adviser by providing commercially sensitive, pragmatic and practical legal support and advice in a cost-effective manner.
• Participating effectively as part of the Dubai Legal team.
• Working often under pressure and to tight deadlines, and occasionally to anti-social hours.

What you will have: 

• University Degree from a well-established University and be qualified as a solicitor in the UK or another common law jurisdiction.
• Proven record of providing strategic legal advice for Markets and Securities Services (“MSS”) businesses with from a reputable legal firm or in house financial institution.
• Minimum 8 years’ post-qualification experience in an international law firm advising on financial markets matters
• Proven experience drafting, negotiating and advising across asset classes including derivatives, repos, structured finance and structured note issuances.
• Knowledge of Islamic finance is an advantage.
• Fluency in English with excellent written and verbal communication skills is essential.
• A collaborative, proactive and solutions-oriented approach, with the ability to prioritise and respond to business demands in a timely way.
• Have a genuine interest in living and working in Dubai.
• Work effectively as part of the In house Legal team, often under pressure, to tight deadlines and occasionally outside standard hours

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Issued by HSBC Bank Middle East Limited.