Ganado Advocates has a long heritage. Founded originally in Valletta, we trace our roots back to the early 1900s. Today, we are one of Malta’s foremost law practices. The firm has grown and adapted itself over the years to meet the changing needs of the international business and legal community. With a team of over eighty lawyers and professionals from other disciplines, supported by a growing complement of committed managerial, administrative and clerical assistants, we are confident of our ability to continue offering excellent client service and legal analysis, pragmatic solutions and attention to detail.
As a result of EU accession, Malta has overseen the establishment of a considerable number of credit institutions, electronic money institution and payments institution. All of these institutions fall within the responsibility of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) who is the single regulator vested with responsibility to regulate and supervise financial services in Malta.
Ganado Advocates is widely recognised by clients and peers as having considerable depth and experience in most aspects of banking and finance law. One of our major strengths is our long and continuing involvement in international ship finance, an activity which has provided a sound infrastructure for our firm’s banking, finance and insurance work to develop strongly.
The firm advises local and international banks and financial institutions on the whole spectrum of banking and finance, including asset finance, project finance, acquisition finance and notably structured finance. As testimony to its standing in international finance circles, the firm has also been commissioned to issue a number of industry legal opinions to various international organisations, notably the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). We have also leveraged our long-standing experience in banking law matters to target the burgeoning e-money and payment services sectors.
Given its extensive experience in financial services regulation, Ganado Advocates is well placed to assist clients wishing to obtain a license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to act as an e-money institution or a payment services institution. Over the past decade, Ganado Advocates has been very active in assisting digital banks, payment institutions and electronic money institutions with all regulatory requirements as well as in all aspects of their day to day needs, including employment, outsourcing, consumer legislation and AML compliance obligations. More recently, the firm has assisted a number of companies with PSD 2 preparation and ensuring compliance with the various regulatory technical standards being issued on an ongoing basis. The firm has also been involved in a number of crowdfunding initiatives, assisting clients with the use of technology for their processes.
Technological progress and the exponential growth of e-commerce have created a niche market in the industry for financial institutions providing electronic money and payment services. Having implemented Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market and Directive 2009/110/EC relating to the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions, Malta opened its doors to a number of players in this market.
Our firm is at the forefront of fintech and blockchain developments, collaborating with regulatory entities and industry leaders to stay ahead in this evolving field.
We assist clients within compliance complying with new blockchain and cryptocurrency laws, legal and regulatory classification of cryptoassets, setting up blockchain-oriented companies, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and other Virtual Financial Assets (VFAs). Additionally, we help establish crypto service providers, including exchanges, brokers, and advisors.
The team is currently focusing on getting crypto service providers MICAR-ready and getting payment institutions PSD-3 and PSR-ready.
