As international banks' presence grows across Asia's developing markets, their in-house teams are becoming stretched. Up to 15 disparate markets need their own compliance officers. But they rarely get it. And general counsels are worried that their in-house team will fall into local market practice in Asian markets.
Meanwhile, as front offices are expanding, along with the complexity of structured products, banks' legal teams cannot keep up.
This year, IFLR has undertaken its first Asian Bankers' Counsel Poll. Following the success of the magazine's global poll in March, we decided to gauge the fears and opinions of Asian counsel. The poll was designed by general counsel at the world's largest banks to survey their peers and was conducted on an anonymous basis to coax candid opinions out of counsel on particularly sensitive subjects, at an especially difficult time.
The poll was wide ranging, and covered retail investors, hedge fund regulation...