Banking & Finance
Discover what banking & finance, known in the Netherlands as financieringsrecht, involves: the practice areas, what lawyers do day to day, the career ladder, and how students prepare for an internship or traineeship.
Introduction
What is banking & finance?
Banking & finance, known in the Netherlands as financieringsrecht, is about borrowing money: the loan agreements, the security a bank or other lender takes, and the regulation that banks themselves must comply with. It is the field of law that makes sure a loan is legally watertight before the money is actually paid out.
A financing rarely comes from a single bank. On larger amounts, several banks join together in a syndicate, each with its own share of the loan and its own position in the security. The lawyer drafts the loan documentation that sets out who lends what, on what terms, and what happens if the borrower can no longer meet its obligations.
Banking & finance touches almost every other practice area. An acquisition is often financed with acquisition finance alongside the buyer's own equity, a real estate project relies on a mortgage loan, and a distressed company being restructured first has to reach agreement with its lenders before anything else can happen.
The practice
Three places to practise this field
The breakdown below mainly says something about the client you serve and which side of the table you sit on, not about the quality of the work. The same financing can come up at an international firm, a Dutch full-service firm, or on the bank's side, each with a slightly different angle.
At international firms such as Clifford Chance and Linklaters, you often work on large, syndicated financings with parties in multiple countries. At Dutch full-service firms such as De Brauw and NautaDutilh, banking & finance often sits directly alongside the team leading the underlying acquisition or real estate project. In-house at a bank, you review the documentation from the lender's perspective, rather than negotiating on behalf of the borrower.
What they do
What banking & finance lawyers do
The work differs by file, but the building blocks below recur in almost every financing. A lawyer usually works on several financings at once, from an initial term sheet to a closing already scheduled.
Legal framework
The key legislation
Banking & finance revolves around a limited set of core rules that keep recurring, even though the substance differs sharply from file to file. Knowing these rules quickly explains why a financing document is structured a certain way.
Practice areas
The main sub-areas
Banking & finance is broad, and most lawyers specialise within one of the sub-areas below, often combined with an adjacent practice area such as corporate M&A or real estate.
Step by step
How a financing comes together
Most financings follow a similar path, from the initial term sheet to the moment the money is actually paid out. On larger deals, due diligence and documentation often run in parallel to save time.
Who does which step depends on seniority. Junior lawyers work out the documentation in detail and track the list of conditions precedent, while senior lawyers lead the negotiation with the bank or syndicate and set the structure of the deal.
Closing is often the most tense moment: every condition precedent must be checked off, every signature must be in, and only then is the money actually transferred. A missing document can delay drawdown by days, which puts pressure on the whole timetable on an acquisition.
Roles
Roles in the banking & finance practice
Each step up the ladder shifts the emphasis further from drafting documentation to setting deal structure and managing the client relationship. Most lawyers climb this ladder at the same firm, though moving firms or to a bank at any level is common.
Student intern
Supports lawyers during an internship alongside or after studying.
Trainee lawyer
The mandatory three-year traineeship straight after graduating.
Lawyer / Associate
Handles files independently after being admitted as a lawyer.
Senior Associate
Leads more complex financings and supervises junior lawyers.
Partner
Carries ultimate responsibility for clients and the practice group.
Career timeline
How long each step takes
The legal profession has a fixed statutory basis for the first step: in the Netherlands, the traineeship in principle lasts three years and is mandatory for every starting lawyer, regardless of practice area. After that, the pace of progression depends heavily on the firm and on individual performance.
After the traineeship years, the emphasis shifts from working out documentation to independently leading financings. Becoming partner takes upwards of ten years of experience in the profession at most firms, and often comes with a formal nomination by the sitting partners.
Not everyone climbs the whole ladder at the same firm. Some lawyers move after a few years to a bank or a company, for example as an in-house lawyer in a treasury department, bringing the experience of legal practice with them.
| Level | Typical time in role |
|---|---|
| Advocaat-stagiair | 3 years, mandatory by law |
| Advocaat / Associate | 3 to 5 years |
| Senior Associate | 2 to 4 years |
| Partner | top level, 10+ years in total |
Compensation
Compensation in the legal profession
Compensation in the legal profession usually consists of a fixed salary that rises with seniority, and at some firms a variable bonus tied to individual and firm performance. Banking & finance does not differ materially in pay structure from other practice areas at the same firm.
The ranges below are general indications for larger Dutch and international firms, and do not apply specifically to this practice area or to any of the firms named on this page. Actual pay varies by firm, region and role, and is listed where known in the individual vacancies on this site.
From partner level, the nature of compensation changes. A partner typically shares in the firm's profits rather than receiving a fixed salary, which ties pay more closely to their own client portfolio and the results of the practice group as a whole.
| Level | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Advocaat-stagiair | €60.000 – €75.000 |
| Advocaat / Associate | €75.000 – €110.000 |
| Senior Associate | €120.000 – €160.000 |
| Partner | €200.000 – €500.000+ |
Ranges are general indications for the Dutch legal profession, not specific to this practice area or a particular firm. See the vacancy pages for concrete salary figures where a firm publishes them.
A day in the life
A typical day for a junior lawyer
The day often starts with going through comments from the bank or the counterparty on a draft of the loan agreement, followed by working those into the document. On days without a call, much of the time goes to drafting definitions, security clauses and the list of conditions precedent.
A financing has many moving parts at once: the loan agreement, the security documents, and often additional guarantees. A change in one document can affect another, which makes the work precise and iterative.
On a closing day the pace shifts entirely. The lawyer works through a checklist of conditions precedent, chases missing signatures, and coordinates with the bank on the exact moment the money is transferred.
Juniors
What trainee lawyers do
Junior lawyers carry much of the drafting a financing rests on, under the supervision of a supervising partner.
- Helping draft loan documentation
- Preparing security documents
- Tracking conditions precedent
- Due diligence research
- Drafting opinion memos
- Tracking deadlines and file status
- Attending closings
- Correspondence with the bank
Much of this work goes back and forth several times between trainee and supervisor before a document goes to the bank. That repetition is not inefficiency, it is how a junior lawyer learns which clauses in a loan agreement actually matter.
Skills
Skills you need
Legal knowledge gets the most attention in training, but the lawyers who stay longest often stand out for financial insight: understanding how credit risk works and why a bank wants a particular condition.
Getting in
How to get into banking & finance
Most routes run through a law master's with a specialisation in financial law or corporate law, followed by an internship or traineeship at a firm or bank. An affinity with numbers is a plus, but not a requirement.
Preparation
How to prepare as a student
Preparation works best when it starts well before the application. Firms test not only legal knowledge, but also whether someone is comfortable with numbers and can explain a loan structure clearly, both verbally and on paper.
Compare
Banking & Finance versus other practice areas
These practice areas often overlap in the same files, which is why students sometimes mix them up. The distinction mainly lies in who the counterparty is, whether it concerns equity or debt, and at which stage of a transaction the work takes place.
Banking & Finance vs Corporate/M&A
Corporate/M&A structures the acquisition itself. Banking & finance arranges the loan the buyer uses to pay for that acquisition.
Banking & Finance vs Restructuring & Insolvency
Banking & finance puts the loan in place. Restructuring & Insolvency comes into play once the borrower can no longer meet its obligations.
Banking & Finance vs Real Estate
Real Estate handles the purchase or development of the property. Banking & finance arranges the mortgage loan that makes that possible.
Banking & Finance vs Antitrust, Competition & Trade
Antitrust assesses whether a transaction would harm competition. Banking & finance separately arranges how the transaction is financed.
Banking & Finance vs Tax
Tax law assesses the tax consequences of a financing structure. Banking & finance handles the underlying loan documentation itself.
Employers
Firms with a banking & finance practice in the Netherlands
A selection of firms with a verified banking & finance practice in the Netherlands. We only name firms whose practice group is confirmed.
International firms often lead the largest, cross-border financings, while Dutch full-service firms usually combine banking & finance with corporate M&A or real estate.
International firms
Clifford Chance
Linklaters
Freshfields
A&O Shearman
Norton Rose Fulbright
Bird & Bird
CMSDutch full-service firms
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
NautaDutilh
Stibbe
Loyens & Loeff
LexenceVacancies
Banking & finance vacancies
We only show real, current vacancies with a link to the employer. Internships, traineeships and lawyer roles appear here. In the meantime, browse all current vacancies.
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Recommended resources
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is banking & finance?
Banking and finance law covers the agreements and structures behind lending: loan agreements, security over assets, and the regulatory rules that govern banks and other lenders. It sits at the centre of how companies and projects are financed with debt.
What is the difference between banking & finance and capital markets?
Banking and finance deals with privately negotiated loans between a borrower and one or more lenders. Capital markets deals with raising money by issuing securities, such as bonds or shares, to investors.
What does a banking & finance lawyer do day to day?
Banking and finance lawyers draft and negotiate loan agreements and security documents, advise on regulatory requirements, track conditions precedent before a loan is drawn, and support clients through closing.
What is security and why does it matter in financing?
Security gives a lender a right over specific assets of the borrower, such as a pledge or mortgage, so the lender can recover its money from those assets if the borrower defaults. It reduces the lender's risk and often the cost of the loan.
What is acquisition finance?
Acquisition finance is the debt raised to fund a company acquisition, often alongside equity from a private equity fund or a strategic buyer. It typically combines a loan agreement with security over the shares and assets of the target.
Which regulators oversee banks in the Netherlands?
De Nederlandsche Bank supervises the financial soundness of banks, the Authority for the Financial Markets supervises conduct and market integrity, and the European Central Bank directly supervises the largest banks under the Single Supervisory Mechanism.
What skills do you need for banking & finance?
Precise contract drafting, comfort with financial and numerical detail, an understanding of how credit risk works, clear negotiation skills, and the ability to manage a closing with many moving parts and deadlines.
How do I get into this field as a student?
Take electives in financial law and secured transactions, do an internship at a firm with a banking & finance practice, and apply to structured traineeships that offer a rotation in this field.
Related
Related legal paths
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