Cross-border
Country manuals

What are Country Manuals?

BRP Country Manuals (CM) provide financial institutions active at an international level with foreign clients with the necessary skills, knowledge and know-how to perform their cross-border activities in compliance with the applicable regulation

BRP Country Manuals are available for more than 190 countries

WHAT IS CROSS-BORDER?

Product Lines

Country Manual Private banking

  • Basic modules with an overview of the legal and regulatory framework for a bank’s cross-border financial activities relating to banking and investment services (execution-only, investment advisory, discretionary asset management)
  • Provides information on licensing requirements for solicitation, negotiation, provision of services, cooperation with third parties, etc.
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type, contractual basis and regulatory exemptions
  • Includes an executive summary, schematic dos and don’ts and a detailed reference document
  • Takes a practical approach to a bank’s daily business

Country Manual Products

  • Overview of the legal and regulatory framework (on a financial product level) applicable to cross-border distribution/sale/placement of the different instruments and the provision of associated advice in a private banking/EAM context
  • Provides information on registration requirements, private placements, product bans, market practices and mandatory product documentation to be made available to investors
  • Covered instruments: securities (incl. equities, debt instruments/bonds and structured products), collective investment schemes (e.g. UCITS, AIFs), derivative products and other financial products
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type, contractual basis, type of financial product and regulatory exemptions
  • Includes an explanation and interpretation of the relevant regulatory context, a detailed reference table and schematic dos and don’ts

Country Manual Asset Management

  • Overview of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to cross-border activities in asset management
  • Provides information on licensing and product registration requirements (incl. private placements) regarding the offering of products and services
  • Covers the presentation of the asset management company, marketing investment funds, offering strategies and investment services (portfolio management and advisory), travelling activity and cooperation with locally licensed entities
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type, contractual basis, regulatory exemptions and market practices
  • Includes an explanation and interpretation of the relevant regulatory context and schematic dos and don’ts

Country Manual Credits

  • Overview of the legal and regulatory framework for a bank’s cross-border credit activities such as overdraft facilities, consumer loans, credit cards, Lombard loans, mortgage loans and corporate lending
  • Provides information on licensing requirements for advertising, solicitation, negotiation and disbursement regarding credit activities as well as data protection and currency controls
  • Considers relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type, contractual basis, regulatory exemptions and product registration
  • Includes an executive summary, schematic dos and don’ts and a detailed reference document

Country Manual Life insurance solutions

  • General regulatory framework regarding the offer and intermediation related to insurance products
  • Possibilities for marketing life insurance products in foreign jurisdictions
  • Possibilities regarding cooperation with local insurance companies or with brokers
  • Special treatment of specific investor categories
  • Treatment of insurance-related products (financial instruments or not)
  • Payment of distribution fees and retrocessions
  • Reporting to clients
  • General good provisions

Country Manual External Asset Managers

  • Overview of the legal and regulatory framework for an EAM’s cross-border financial activities (execution-only, investment advisory, discretionary asset management, introduction of a custodian bank)
  • Provides information on licensing requirements for solicitation, negotiation and provision of these services
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type, contractual basis and regulatory exemptions
  • Includes an executive summary and schematic dos and don’ts

Country Manual Retail Banking

  • Basic modules with an overview of the legal and regulatory framework for a bank’s cross-border financial activities relating to banking (account opening, execution-only) and credit services (consumer loans, credit cards, mortgage loans)
  • Provides information on licensing requirements for provision of services and credit activities
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type
  • Includes an executive summary, schematic dos and don’ts and a detailed reference document
  • Takes a practical approach to a bank’s daily business

COUNTRY MANUAL TRUSTEE

  • Overview of the legal and regulatory framework governing Trustee cross-border activities (set-up of trusts and structures, trust registration, accountancy, conciergerie services)
  • Provides information on licensing requirements for Trustee services
  • Tax: impact of anti-avoidance rules
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type
  • Includes an executive summary, schematic dos and don’ts and a detailed reference document

Country Manual Tax By BRP Tax

  • Overview of the legal and regulatory framework for an EAM’s cross-border financial activities (execution-only, investment advisory, discretionary asset management, introduction of a custodian bank)
      • Includes tax regulations and best practices applicable to private banking clients with assets deposited in a bank outside of their country of residence
      • The information and the procedures have been specifically adapted to the financial industry’s requirements
      • Every manual is divided into chapters covering issues as: tax compliance, tax adequacy, operational taxation (calculation and reports) and handling of structures
      • The information has been adapted to the country of the custodian bank, with the relevant tax treaties, exchange of information agreements, regulations, and best practices
      • Country Tax Manuals allow to reduce implementation costs, risks, and the adaptation period for new market requirements
  • Provides information on licensing requirements for solicitation, negotiation and provision of these services
  • Considers the relevant factors of cross-border financial business such as location of the activity, client category, solicitation type, contractual basis and regulatory exemptions
  • Includes an executive summary and schematic dos and don’ts

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Countries covered

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YOUR ADVANTAGES

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All our Country Manuals are available by subscription, and our modular prices grant you a free choice of target country and product line

Subscriptions for Country Manuals have a minimal duration of one year

REGULAR UPDATES

Any subscription to the BRP Country Manuals includes regular and complimentary updates based on consistent feedback from local experts and supported by BRP monitoring of the financial regulation powered by artificial intelligence (AI)

ALERT SYSTEM

Subscriptions to Country Manuals feature commented alerts in case of notable developments in local financial jurisdictions, conveniently delivered to users’ email inbox

HOTLINE SUPPORT

Subscribers of Country Manuals enjoy free after-sales support and have direct access to our world-wide network of local specialists

FITS LIKE A GLOVE

Country Manual subscriptions lead the way to all digital solutions provided by the BRP Group: see our offer for e-Learning, inApp and AI-powered monitoring services

Signature Process

What are the requirements under foreign law and regulation for cross-border financial services?

The BRP Country Manuals furnish a sound basis for the management of regulatory risks concerning activities with clients domiciled in jurisdictions outside Switzerland

The BRP Country Manuals provide financial institutions with behaviour rules in relation to cross-border activities in more than 190 jurisdictions

Based on the logic of the cross-border framework, the BRP Country Manuals cover four pillars: services, products, suitability, tax

BRP has developed different types of Country Manuals covering the cross-border requirements of financial institutions

SERVICES

Market Access

Country Manuals: Private Banking, Independent Portfolio Manager/Financial Advisor, Life Insurance Solutions, Credit and Asset Managers

Local licencing requirements for all aspects of cross-border financial services (incl. prospecting, negotiation and reporting) provided by financial institutions (such as banks, independent financial advisors or asset managers)

Aspects considered: Type of service, solicitation type, location, client classification, contractual basis, cross-border licenses, etc.

PRODUCTS

Product Distribution

Country Manuals: Products

Registration and documentation requirements (incl. marketing material) for the distribution of financial products such as equities, bonds, structured products, funds, derivatives, etc.

Aspects considered: Product type, listing and registration, type of service, solicitation type, location, client classification, contractual basis, cross-border licenses, etc.

SUITABILITY

Product Allocation

Country Manuals: Suitability

Aspects to be considered for a suitable and appropriate allocation of financial products to the clients according to local regulations

TAX

Fiscal Impact

Tax Investment Manuals

Information about fiscal consequences of specific investments for the end clients (content provided by BRP Tax SA)

Features

GLOBAL
COVERAGE

Depending on the product line, more than 190 jurisdictions are available – more are added constantly

PERSONAL SUPPORT

Our team supports you in a pro-active and high-quality manner to manage the particular regulatory constraints of your business. Team members are proficient in more than 10 languages

UNIQUE IT
COMPATIBILITY

Modular, structured content of the BRP Country Manuals allow for automated compliance solutions,  API access for banking systems and customisable content

EXTENSIVE LEGAL
NETWORK

BRP Country Manuals are drafted in cooperation with over 300 local experts worldwide to which our clients have access

UPDATES
& ALERTS

An ongoing subscription to BRP Country Manuals include regular and complimentary updates as well as a monitoring system of the subscribed jurisdictions

What is BRP BRAIN?

Dealing with a regulatory inflation where an ever-increasing number of rules, recommendations, opinions, etc. are issued every day by an important number of actors such as regulators, supervisory authorities, courts and associations is a real challenge!

Following the legal principle “ignorance of the law is no excuse”, there is no other option but to comply

To solve this challenge, we offer you BRP BRAIN: Bespoke, Regulatory Alerts, Insight and News

It is a unique combination of regulatory data, legal know-how and scientific skills

TOPICS

The tool covers Financial Services, Products Placement Rules and Tax regulation and dives into additional key topics such as AEOI, AML, Data Protection, ESG, Market Abuse, and much more

Geographical Scope

Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, we rapidly process multiple sources of information, aiming towards 190 jurisdictions

Pragmatic Approach

BRAIN provides a unique combination of regulatory data, legal know-how and scientific skills resulting in a pragmatic solution informing you on the regulatory news that is important to you

BRP BRAIN DEMO

Consultancy & training

BRP Group can assist you with consultancy and training on general cross-border risks or on each country in coordination with its network of over 300 law firms worldwide