Excited to grow your career?
 

BBVA is a global company with more than 160 years of history that operates in more than 25 countries where we serve more than 80 million customers. We are more than 121,000 professionals working in multidisciplinary teams with profiles as diverse as financiers, legal experts, data scientists, developers, engineers and designers.

About the job:

Job Purpose & Objectives

• BBVA is one of the largest and strongest financial institutions in Europe.  It enjoys a dominant position in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and has an ambitious strategy to expand its presence in Asia Pacific.

• At BBVA, one can combine the challenges and high profile work of a large financial institution with the opportunity to make a real impact in a dynamic and competitive environment.

• The main purpose of the role is to provide accurate and precise advice, dedicated transaction management support and practical non-financial risk management to BBVA in relation to its Global Markets business in Asia Pacific.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare, review and negotiate legal documentation commonly used for OTC derivatives, structured notes/warrants, structured deposits, and capital markets transactions (including various forms of master agreements, master confirmation agreements, structured notes documentation/distribution agreements and notes listing application documents in different jurisdictions);

• Liaise with clients, external lawyers, regulators and any other external parties to execute OTC derivatives/structured deposits transactions, structured notes/warrants transactions, and/or capital market transactions; and

• Provide accurate and concise advice to support the Global Markets business in its transactions throughout Asia Pacific.

• Assist in the review of cross border legal/regulatory positions and netting positions in various APAC jurisdictions;

• Support expansion of business in challenging environments of emerging Asian markets where interpretation of local laws and regulations are often not straight-forward;

• Support management in BBVA’s strategy to open branches, local subsidiaries and/or representative offices in major APAC financial markets;

• Assist business and operational teams in the analysis of new trading venues, brokers, platforms and internal sales tools; 

• Assist in the review and negotiation of electronic trading agreements;

• Monitor, identify and advise on legal and regulatory risks and market developments in connection with OTC derivatives/structured deposits, structured notes/warrants transactions, and capital markets transactions;

• Development of the Legal Department’s procedures and template documentation, particularly in relation to new business areas being developed in new jurisdictions, together with advice to various internal/non-financial committees on legal risks in respect of any new or existing products and/or geographies; 

• Assist in the selection, retention and management of external legal advisers; and

• Assist in various cross regional and/or cross departmental requests and projects.

Job Specifications
 

Qualification & Experience

• Degree holder in laws from a university in Hong Kong or a Commonwealth country and qualified in Hong Kong or a Commonwealth country; and

• 12+ PQE and experienced in OTC derivatives, master agreements and master confirmation agreements review and negotiations, structured notes/warrants transactions and listing applications, structured deposits and capital markets work from leading international law firms or in-house legal departments of major international financial institutions.

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English, Cantonese and Mandarin languages.

Other Skills (e.g. interpersonal, communication etc)

• The ability to demonstrate a high degree of commercial awareness and to make sound judgement in a fast-moving business environment; together with an ability to identify and manage legal/contractual risks;

• Ability to work efficiently under minimum supervision;

• Responsible and dedicated to the job; and committed to comply with internal procedures (eg Employees’ Handbook from the Human Resources department);

• Ability to liaise with external law firms and to challenge their input to obtain best in class advice;

• A confident communicator who can effectively handle a significant amount of direct client-facing work – the role involves interaction with internal staff and external clients of all levels of seniority;

• Excellent organisational skills, meticulous in details and ability to prioritise heavy workload;

• Ability to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines; and

• Ability to work in a matrix reporting structure, multi-functional and cross-cultural environment, with very close collaboration with lawyers in Madrid, London, New York and other BBVA offices in Asia and Europe.

BBVA Hong Kong will conduct a background check on you in accordance with the Mandatory Reference Checking (MRC) Scheme regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).  Should any discrepancy identified or deemed unsatisfactory to us, we reserve the rights to terminate your employment in such case.  (FAQs for In-Scope Individual: https://www.hkab.org.hk/files/page/page-content/79/FAQs_for_In-Scope_Individuals_(24_July_2025)-1753348029.pdf)

Skills:

Commercial Awareness