Overview
Francesca Guolo is a partner in a business law group at Goodmans, Head of both the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice and its Structured Finance and Derivatives Practice, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Opinions Committee. She is a preeminent financial services lawyer with particular expertise in structured finance, securitization, derivatives, wealth management and the regulation of financial services market participants and products. Her experience spans North American and European markets and includes capital markets, restructuring and merger and acquisition transactions.
Francesca’s clients consistently rely on her insightful and practical business advice, and benefit from the breadth of her experience and perspective. She is often called upon to advise in the negotiation and execution of innovative, complex transactions driven by strategic, economic, tax or regulatory considerations. Notably, Francesca led the Goodmans legal team that represented and advised the Pan-Canadian Third Party Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Investors Committee in the successful restructuring of the C$32 billion non-bank sponsored asset-backed commercial paper market in Canada.
Francesca’s clients include domestic and international regulated financial institutions, broker-dealers, securities advisers, asset managers, mortgage lenders and financing companies as well as providers of back-office financial services and solutions, FinTech entrepreneurs, corporations, hedge funds and investment funds, federal and provincial governments, governmental agencies and crown corporations, financial services industry organizations, private family offices and high net worth individuals.
Francesca has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Derivatives Law) 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Mergers and Acquisitions Law) 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Securities Law) 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Law) 2023, 2022
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Structured Finance Law) 2022
- Who’s Who Legal (Capital Markets - Structured Finance), 2021 (and since 2014)
- Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law Expert Guide (Structured Finance and Securitisation), 2021 (and since 2016)
- Euromoney’s Banking, Finance and Transactional Expert Guide (Structured Finance and Securitisation), 2021 (and since 2016)
- The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Consistently Recommended - Derivatives), 2023 (and since 2014)
- The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Repeatedly Recommended - Corporate Finance), 2022 (and since 2014)
- Lexpert Special Edition: Canada's Leading Finance and M&A Lawyers (M&A) 2022, 2021, 2020
Featured Work
Francesca advises clients on novel, state-of-the-art securitization transactions and programs. She has advised on a global diamond inventory securitization and online supply chain trade receivables program, among others. She also assists clients to negotiate and execute financial and commodity derivative transactions and to comply with evolving regulatory requirements imposed upon swap participants.
Francesca assists clients in establishing and maintaining legally compliant operations in Canada and successfully navigating transactions and circumstances attracting regulatory involvement or oversight.
Francesa regularly advises on matters of governance and regulatory compliance. Her governmental and regulatory clients seek her assistance in developing legislation, regulation, policies and programs, including Canada’s registered covered bonds regime and bank resolution planning.
Awards & Recognition
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory Recognized, Derivative Instruments 2023
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized: Corporate Law, Derivatives Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law 2023
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Who's Who Legal Recommended National Leader, Capital Markers 2022
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Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law Recognized, Structured Finance and Securitisation 2022
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Legal Media Group's Expert Guides Recognized, Banking, Finance and Transactional 2022
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized: Corporate Law, Derivatives Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law, Structured Finance Law 2022
Credentials
Professional Involvement
Francesca has served as a board member of a number of profit and not-for-profit corporations, including a wholly-owned Canadian financing subsidiary of a global bank. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Advisors of both St. Augustine’s Seminary and ShareLife.
Credentials
- Osgoode Hall Law School, 2020, Regulatory Compliance and Legal Risk Management for Financial Institutions Certificate
- Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B., 1987
- University of Toronto, B.A., 1984
Professional Affiliations
- Law Society of Ontario
- Toronto Opinions Group
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association
Call to Bar
- 1989 Ontario
Insights
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Banking and Financial Services
OSFI Announces New Guidelines to Manage Third Party Risks
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has released its Guideline B-10 – Third-Party Risk Management (“Guideline”) for all federally regulated financial institutions… -
Technology
Canadian Securities Administrators Announce Enhanced Pre-Registration Undertaking Requirements for Crypto Trading Platforms
Further to its December 12, 2022 announcement, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published Staff Notice 21-332 – Crypto Asset Trading Platforms: Pre-Registration Undertakings (“SN… -
Capital Markets
CSA and IIROC Seek Guidance on Regulatory Framework for Short Selling in Canada
The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) have released a joint Staff Notice 23-329 (the “Staff Notice”) seeking feedback… -
Financial Services Regulatory
IIROC Issues Guidance on Short Sale Orders and the Reasonable Expectation to Settle Resulting Trades
On August 17, 2022, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) issued Notice 22-0130 Guidance on Participant Obligations to have Reasonable Expectation to Settle any Trade… -
Financial Services Regulatory
FSRA Initiates Consultation on Guidance for Principles-Based Regulation
On March 16, 2022, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) initiated a consultation on its proposed Principles-Based Regulation Approach Guidance (the “Proposed PBR Guidance… -
Structured Finance and Derivatives
The Securitisation Law Review 3rd Edition - Canada Chapter
Francesca Guolo, Mark Surchin, Brian Empey and Jon Northup co-authored the Canada Chapter of The Law Reviews' Securitisation Review 3rd Edition. The Securitisation Law Review provides legal…
News & Events
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- 06:30 PM Financial Services Regulatory
Francesca Guolo at Joint Staff Notice 23-329 on Short Selling in Canada
On the 8th of December 2022, The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) published a Joint Staff Notice 23-329 on Short Selling… -
Banking and Financial Services
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2023 Continues to Recognize Goodmans
We are proud to announce we have once again been recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2023.85 Goodmans lawyers have been recognized as top-tier in their fields and leaders across… -
Goodmans Lawyers Named Across 2022 Expert Guides
We are pleased to share Goodmans lawyers have been recognized across several Expert Guides 2022 editions. Recognition from Expert Guides is based on peer review, and demonstrates our lawyers…