Financial Services Licensing: Legal Advisory

The Gelephu Financial Services Office (GFSO) is the independent regulator of all financial services in GMC, covering traditional finance and digital assets. Its framework draws on financial services regulations modelled on those of an established international financial centre, adopted under the Application of Laws Act 2024, and in its current phase the GFSO is progressively issuing its own legislation. Applicants face a genuine regulatory process: a general application, supplementary forms for regulated activities such as banking, broker-dealer, asset management, and insurance, a GMC business plan demonstrating regulatory compliance, and a compliance manual describing internal controls.

A successful application typically results in an In-Principle Approval (IPA) with conditions: incorporation through GCRO, a GMC bank account, injection of regulatory capital, office space, and key personnel hires. The Financial Services Licence issues only after those conditions are satisfied.
 

Regulatory perimeter analysis: whether your activity requires a licence and under which category

Drafting and review of the application pack, business plan, and compliance manual to GFSO standards

Structuring advice on capital, governance, and key personnel requirements

Advice on IPA conditions through to final licence issuance

Advice on GFSO requirements and queries throughout the review

Advice on ongoing regulatory compliance, reporting, and variation requirements after licensing
 

Firms already licensed in recognised financial centres may qualify for GMC’s accelerated review pathway. We advise on eligibility and on the regulatory standing evidence required.
 

We will advise banks, digital banks, payment service providers, broker-dealers, asset managers, investment firms, insurers, reinsurers, fintech companies, virtual asset businesses, family offices, fund managers, proprietary trading firms, and other regulated financial institutions seeking to establish or expand operations in Gelephu Mindfulness City.