Victoria Ferres

合伙人

Victoria Ferres advises both financial and non-financial institutions on a broad range of financial services regulatory matters, with a particular focus on retail and fintech regulation, consumer protection, compliance, and financial crime-related issues across the UAE, including the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Victoria also regularly helps clients design and implement internal policies, procedures, and systems and controls in line with international compliance standards and best practices.

Victoria leverages her background assisting leading financial institutions, fintech companies, and asset managers in the UK, EU, and the Middle East with financial services regulatory matters to advise banks, finance companies, payment and stored value providers, technology companies, digital asset players, and well-established institutional clients on the evolving regulatory framework in the Middle East. She regularly advises on projects for clients seeking to establish a presence in the UAE and guides them through such applications under the mainland UAE, ADGM,and DIFC regimes.

Victoria additionally advises financial services and nonfinancial services entities, together with government-related authorities, on their internal compliance and corporate governance frameworks. She regularly provides both business and board level training on regulatory and compliance matters.

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  • Advised one of the UAE’s largest banks across its consumer banking offering, with a particular focus on its payments, stored value, and micro-lending operations
  • Advised a Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)-licensed international fintech provider on multiple aspects of its UAE operations, including with respect to expanding its existing scope of activities, supervisory, and compliance matters as well as regulatory engagement with the CBUAE
  • Advised a global payments and financial platform provider on certain aspects of its UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-related operations and future expansion plans
  • Counseled numerous banks, investment banks, alternative asset managers, and fintech providers on regulatory considerations connected to the cross-border provision of financial services and products to clients based in the mainland UAE, ADGM, DIFC, and KSA
  • Advised a legal technology company on its online subscription service for the mainland UAE, ADGM, and DIFC in connection with the cross-border marketing and selling of financial products and services, including digital asset products and services
  • Assisted a major UAE bank with its implementation of the CBUAE’s Open Finance Regulation
  • Advised multiple digital (app-based) mobile wallet providers on their applications to the CBUAE to become licensed under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation and Stored Value Facilities Regulation
  • Assisted a state-owned technology company on its application to become licensed as a finance company under the UAE Central Bank’s Finance Companies Regulation, one of the first such applications made under the revised framework
  • Advised a number of the world’s largest stablecoin issuers their respective expansions into the UAE market
  • Assisted two first of their kind digital UAE banks on their applications to become licensed by the CBUAE, including drafting the full suite of customer-facing documentation for their consumer banking business
  • Counselled several alternative asset managers on all aspects of their licensing and establishment in the ADGM, including providing ongoing regulatory advice and support in connection with their ADGM activities
  • Advised a global provider of electronic trading systems on its establishment in the UAE, and more specifically assisting with its establishment and licensing in the DIFC
  • Advised multiple virtual asset service providers on the expansion of their activities into the UAE, including advising on the merits of establishing under each of the mainland UAE, ADGM, and DIFC regimes
  • Counselled a state-owned investment firm on the proposed expansion of a blockchain digital asset ecosystem into the ADGM, including the licensing and establishment of a private bank, payments provider, and fund manager
  • Advised a major telecommunications provider in connection with a comprehensive compliance analysis for its financial services arm to assess its current regulatory compliance status and augment existing processes
  • Advised a national oil company on the design and implementation of the corporate governance framework for its newly launched technology investment arm
  • Assisted a state-owned investment firm on enhancements to its Code of Ethics and Delegation of Authority
  • Advised one of the region’s largest commercial free zone authorities on the design and implementation of a legal obligations register setting out the laws and regulations that it is mandated to comply with
  • Advised multiple UAE entities on enhancements to their inside information and insider trading frameworks to align with international standards and best practices
  • Advised a DIFC-established family office on the design and implementation of a comprehensive compliance manual, including delivering a series of board and employee-level training sessions on the new compliance framework
  • Assisted a national rail company on the design, drafting, and implementation of its end-to-end compliance framework
  • Nottingham Law School, 2011, LPC, with distinction
  • University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2006, B.A. (Hons), law with French
  • England & Wales