Melody Hoay
Biography
Melody Hoay is an associate in the Financial Services & Regulatory Group in the London office.
Melody's regulatory experience covers payments, cryptocurrency, ESG, capital markets, asset management, financial advisory and anti-money laundering work in the UK and Singapore.
Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Melody practised law at one of the largest leading law firms in Singapore in the financial regulatory and fintech team, and through that capacity was also a member of the legal team sitting on the ExCo of the Singapore FinTech Association in 2021.
Melody has also given various talks on financial regulation, including two guest lectures on cryptocurrency regulation at a Singapore university.
Melody graduated from the University of Oxford with a B.A. (Hons) in jurisprudence in 2017. She also topped the national Singapore Bar Examinations in 2019 and qualified in Singapore.
Practice Focus
Melody has advised financial institutions, international organisations, companies and start-ups on regulatory and compliance matters in respect of their business models, licensing, distribution of products, conduct of business requirements and corporate acquisitions in Europe and Asia.
With a focus on fintech and cross-border work, Melody has advised on traditional and innovative business models relating to fund structures, securities broker-dealers, distribution of insurance products, along with payment systems, P2P lending platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges (including security token and NFT listings) and carbon credit and commodity exchanges. This includes providing strategic and commercial advice as to the cross-border provision of services.
Representative Legal Matters
- Advising a carbon credit and commodities exchange and brokerage based in Australia, Europe and US on a regulatory review of their various business lines and products offered in the UK and EU.
- Advising an Australian issuer on the listing of complex retail derivative products on the London Stock Exchange.
- Advised a retail stock-broking platform on the international launch of their mobile application, including with respect to EU passporting requirements.
- Advised a global payments platform on their B2B payments and crypto offering in Europe.
- Advised a fund manager on the regulatory investigation process and potential enforcement actions.
- Advised on authorisation, conduct of business and anti-money laundering requirements applicable to various financial institutions in the UK and with respect to the cross-border distribution of services.
- Advised on various change of control and regulatory reporting requirements with respect to acquisitions and divestments involving UK regulated entities.
Professional Honors
- 1st position of 729 candidates in the Singapore Bar Examinations 2019
- Awards: Best Candidate on the Course, Best Candidate in Advanced Corporate Practice and Best Candidate in Real Estate Practice, and four distinctions in corporate, insolvency, civil litigation and real estate practices
Admissions
- Singapore (2020)
Education
- Singapore Institute of Legal Education (Singapore Bar Course) (2019)
- University of Oxford (BA Jurisprudence) (2017)
Languages
- Cantonese
- English
- Mandarin