Team size: Four

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In the midst of rising geopolitical issues, pandemic outbreaks, climate change, shifts in economic volatility, and increasing regulatory complexity, organisations around the globe are reassessing their business structures and risk appetite. In-house lawyers are, therefore, facing additional challenges to meet new business demands and find new ways to better support the operating models of their organisations during periods of instability or crises. With respect to our Legal Department, we are evaluating whether processes and procedures can be automated and how to better utilise the digital transformation that our Bank has recently implemented, in order to efficiently manage and provide access to volumes of data and information. In addition, constant regulatory changes have intensified the pressure to seek assistance from external legal advisers or other specialists to obtain tailored solutions for situations arising from instability or crises, as mentioned above, which fall outside the normal course of business for any organisation.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently (these can be legal, political, economy or business-based)?

The main trend in our country, at the moment, and in general across credit institutions, is the triptych of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). ESG is a wide and expansive topic, as organisations, including credit institutions, are attempting to address ESG-related issues by assessing how the principles of ESG can be incorporated into their business models (and day-to-day affairs), meeting and managing regulatory expectations, and approaching the ESG principles to add value to the principles that each organisation represents.