
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) 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Mergers and Acquisitions Law) 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Securities Law) 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
- Best Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Law) 2024, 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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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Corporate Law, Derivatives Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law 2024
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Who's Who Legal Recognized National Leader, Capital Markets 2023
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory Recognized, Derivative Instruments 2023
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Who's Who Legal Recommended Global Leader, Capital Markets - Structure Finance 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
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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Capital Markets
CSA and CIRO Publish Summary of Comments and Responses to Short Selling Consultation
On November 16, 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrator (CSA) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (now, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Association) (CIRO) published a… -
Tax
CRA Suggests Depositing Cryptocurrency with Trading Platform Could Trigger Tax
On November 2, 2023, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) answered a series of questions as part of the Association de planification fiscal et financière’s annual conference in Quebec City that may have… -
Capital Markets
Canadian Securities Administrators Announce Guidance on Trading of Value-Referenced Crypto Assets for Crypto Trading Platforms
On October 5, 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published Staff Notice 21-333 – Crypto Asset Trading Platforms: Terms and Conditions for Trading Value-Referenced Crypto Assets with… -
Banking and Financial Services
Canadian Securities Administrators Publish Final Business Conduct Rules for Derivatives Firms
On September 28, 2023, the securities regulatory authorities of each of the provinces and territories, other than British Columbia, published Multilateral Instrument 93-101 Derivatives: Business… -
Financial Services Regulatory
CSA and OSFI Announce Guidance Concerning Crypto Asset Holdings
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) have recently announced guidance concerning the holding of crypto assets.A public… -
Financial Services Regulatory
Federally Regulated Private Pension Plans: OSFI Draft Advisory on Technology and Cyber Security Incident Reporting
In April 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) identified cyber risk as a major issue to be addressed in its Annual Risk Outlook – Fiscal Year…
News & Events
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Banking and Financial Services
Who's Who Legal Continues to Recognize Goodmans in the Canada 2023 Guide
We are pleased to share Goodmans lawyers have been recognized across Who's Who Legal's National Guide: Canada 2023. WWL National Guides identify national or regional leaders in a sector, industry… -
Private Equity and Venture Capital
100+ Goodmans lawyers recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada: 2024 Edition
Goodmans is delighted to announce we have been recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada with 101 lawyers ranked across 41 practice areas.Congratulations to Harry Radomski… -
- 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…