Senior Associate
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Sebastian Souchet focuses his practice on representing US and non-US banks, broker-dealers and “buy-side” market participants on bank regulatory matters and regulatory, transactional and compliance issues related to securities and derivatives.
More specifically, Sebastian has experience advising US and non-US banks, bank holding companies, and other financial market participants on various bank regulatory issues including capital requirements, licensing/chartering requirements, control issues, affiliate and insider transactions, and the Volcker Rule.
Sebastian also has experience representing US and non-US banks and broker-dealers on various requirements arising under the US securities laws and the Commodity Exchange Act, including requirements relating to trading, supervision, recordkeeping, reporting, capital, margin and communications/marketing, as well as SEC and CFTC regulatory requirements arising under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Sebastian also advises clients on complex financial transactions and has experience drafting and negotiating securities and derivatives trading documentation, including prime brokerage agreements, ISDA Master Agreements and various other industry-standard and bespoke trading and financing contracts.
Recent Articles & Comments
It would be prudent for firms to pay particular attention to Commissioner Lee’s remarks as they represent further evidence of the SEC’s growing emphasis on the investor protection implications of broker-dealers’ use of new technologies and digital engagement practices (“DEPs”). Commissioner Lee’s speech can be seen as building off of (i) the SEC’s August 2021 on the use of DEPs by broker-dealers and investment advisers, (ii) SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s highlighting, in part, the SEC’s focus…
The question of how to appropriately delineate between utility tokens and security tokens is an important and recurring issue for the regulation of digital assets. In many ways this is one of the fundamental questions of digital asset regulation because it requires that regulators and market participants identify what specific characteristics constitute a "security" within the scope of the Supreme Court's Howey and/or Reves tests. Notably, in June 2018, then-Director of the SEC's Division of…
Deputy Treasury Secretary Adeyemo's remarks provide important clarity as to how Treasury views its role with respect to regulation of the digital asset markets. Mr. Adeyemo states that the "OFAC requirements apply to the virtual currency industry the same way they do to traditional banks," and that Treasury will use targeted sanctions, among other regulatory tools, to mitigate illicit activity in the digital asset markets. However, he also emphasizes cooperation between Treasury and digital…
What are the consequences of Chair Gensler's "technology neutral," but not "public policy-neutral" regulatory approach? From a purely administrative perspective, it seems that technology neutral financial regulation may have the benefit of (i) "future-proofing" law by making it more adaptable to various technological advances and (ii) providing for more equal application of financial regulation by, in effect, treating all new technologies on an equivalent basis. As an economic and public…