Consumer finance lawyers

Consumer finance legal advice

As disruptive technologies continue to develop and drive changes in consumer behaviour, the boundaries between financial services, tech, media and retail business are becoming increasingly blurred. The finance needs of consumers and small businesses are increasingly diverse and the market which serves them is even more so – gone are the days when your bank was your only port of call.

Our lawyers work with innovative and solutions-orientated businesses, and we love helping them navigate the complexity of the regulatory landscape by joining the dots on different rule books, laws and regimes. A single project may involve payments, conduct of business, unfair terms, consumer credit and data protection. We pride ourselves on delivering commercial solutions, as well as using our deep market knowledge to be a responsive sounding board for in-house teams day-to-day. 

Osborne Clarke continually demonstrate their ability to provide pragmatic and solutions-focused advice on complicated matters.

Consumer Finance client, Chambers and Partners 

How we can help you

Our consumer finance practice is just one part of a market-leading payments and financial services regulatory practice.  We serve digital businesses, banks, lenders and innovators across the globe doing business in the UK.

We can support you on all aspects of the regulatory regime that apply to providing consumer and small business finance, including savings, current accounts and mortgage regulation, including:

• advising on the development and launch of innovative regulated credit and mortgage products;
• advising on all aspects of the consumer credit regime to ensure compliance with the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and FCA Handbook, including FCA Principles and the Consumer Duty;
• drafting and reviewing regulated credit documents and notices for regulated credit products, including loans, credit cards, overdrafts, hire-purchase and consumer hire;
• providing strategic advice to boards on things like remediation and notifications to regulators for non-compliance issues;
• advising on the regulatory perimeter for regulated mortgage contracts and drafting regulated mortgage terms and conditions;
• advising on new authorisation applications and approvals, including assistance with regulatory business plans, supporting policies and the senior managers' regime;
• drafting and negotiating co-brand, brokerage and appointed representative agreements;
• undertaking due diligence on portfolios of regulated lending products (both secured and unsecured), and providing legal opinions for sellers, purchasers, investors and funders; and
• coordinating international advice and surveys on the regulatory perimeter for credit, merchant cash advances, subscription hire, small business lending and credit broking.

Our consumer finance lawyers

Our international team advise on the wide-reaching and complex regulatory regimes that apply to providing finance to consumers and small businesses. We work the way that you work, delivering seamless advice when your consumer finance matters cross-over into the payments or digital business arenas, or when they trigger a need for consumer or data protection law expertise.

We support all kinds of businesses in the market, from payments or "regtech" innovators, retailers and manufacturers, to brokers, dealers, asset finance providers, online lenders, card issuers, banks and building societies, third party servicers and debt purchasers.