About

There are 19 team members in the legal, compliance and operational risk management department of Bank of China (Hong Kong) including 17 legal counsels, most of whom are qualified in Hong Kong, in addition to two paralegals. The team is completely tri-lingual and is a very diverse and professional legal unit, serving around 14,000 employees within the Bank. The team – which is relatively small in terms of the banking industry – covers all areas of the law which complements the ever-growing and changing needs of the expanding platforms in Hong Kong and ASEAN countries. The team also has a proven track record of acquiring new professional skills and broadened practice areas as and when required by the Bank’s Hong Kong and ASEAN operations, especially in light of the “Belt and Road Initiative” development strategy proposed by the Chinese government. The department focuses on the following areas – onshore and offshore RMB (yuen) financing, loans, derivatives, fixed income, funds, asset management, RQFII, QFII, M&A, private banking, fintech, litigation, regulatory advice, custody and trusts, data privacy, employment and HR. The team also considers legal issues in mainland China and works with and provides guidance to the ASEAN legal teams in the Bank. The legal team is at the forefront of offshore RMB businesses and is making a significant contribution to the internationalisation of the currency. The team has also merged and consolidated with the compliance, operational risk, fraud risk, and complaints handling teams, showing its versatility. It also worked on the disposal of two major Hong Kong banks (Nanyang Commercial Bank and Chiyu Bank) and the acquisition of various Southeast Asian subsidiaries and branches. Serving a growing banking group which is entering new jurisdictions requires considerable innovation and dedication; and providing professional and practical legal advice, taking into account every nuance of commercial, political and economic considerations, requires copious amounts of experience and strategy-planning: both from legal and commercial perspectives. General counsel Carmen Kan states: ‘All of the lawyers in the legal team are lateral thinkers, and are able to adapt to constantly changing and challenging environments. Aside from being technically astute, managing internal and external legal and non-legal relations is also a large part of the team’s role. It is a highly-regarded, trusted and valued legal department and often serves as non-legal advisors to our front offices and senior management [and is] entrusted with the task of strategic planning at embryonic stages of proprietary and client projects’. The leadership of Kan is noted as being vital to the success of the team; she is recognised for her breadth and depth of legal knowledge as well as her agile mind and broad-based thinking. Particularly noted for her negotiation skills, Kan is also known for her ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders including senior management and the company’s board of directors.