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It is not easy to stand out as a legal team in a large global organisation famed for the quality of its legal advisers, but according to an independent survey of HSBC global legal teams commissioned by the bank’s group legal function, the South African legal function has, for the past three years, ranked as one of the top three in-house departments within the group. Last year it set the bar even higher by obtaining first position. This achievement is all the more remarkable given the team’s size: led by Henk Crouse, general counsel for HSBC Africa, the South Africa legal team comprises just four lawyers and one professional assistant.

As a branch of HSBC registered in South Africa as an external company, the legal team has to reconcile the legal and commercial requirements of the global group with those of the local market. A good example of this was the team’s response earlier this year to Article 55 of the EU Banking Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD), which introduces bail-in powers for European governments. The team notified and worked closely with the South African Reserve Bank and national regulators to advise the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) in the UK that any bail-in clauses would not be approved by South African banking documentation.

Beyond this, nominators pointed out that the team has built a reputation for ‘standing firm for what is right, even if it is not a popular call, [by] guiding the business to decisions that do not only fall within the ambit of the law but also safeguard the bank’s reputation and reflect [its] values’. HSBC’s operations in South Africa have grown rapidly over the last two years without a corresponding increase in the size of the legal team. This has put enormous pressure on its staff to go the extra mile, and nominators pointed out that the burden of working long hours (and, frequently, weekends) in order to meet expectations has not dented the team’s professional pride or commitment to serving its users. The bank’s legal team has contributed both by adding knowledge – particularly through its close involvement in a number of significant transactions, many of which involved hugely complex legal work – and removing risk from day-to-day operations.