Stefaan Loosveld

Stefaan is the managing partner of the Belgian offices of Linklaters and also heads their Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations practice (ranked Band 1 in Chambers). His work focuses on multidisciplinary cross-border investigations (including regulatory and white-collar), with an emphasis on EU financial and supervisory law, EU AML and EU sanctions legislation.  He further often acts in multijurisdictional banking and finance disputes, including in regulatory procedures involving EU and national financial supervisory authorities. Through this work, he is very familiar with the interplay between European and national law rules, including in relation to the relevance of EU law and fundamental rights in regulatory investigations and compliance proceedings. Stefaan has also extensively worked on banking restructurings in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis for key Benelux, French and German financial institutions, and has been significantly involved in sovereign debt restructuring work, including in the wake of the 2010-2011 eurozone debt crisis. He is finally at the forefront of a number of strategic EU thought-leadership initiatives, such as on EU AML and sanctions, on the changing European banking landscape, and on EU regulatory and institutional developments.

Legal500 lists Stefaan as leading individual for Dispute Resolution in Belgium, highlighting his expertise in contentious regulatory.  Stefaan is currently based in Brussels but has previously worked in the New York and London offices of Linklaters. He has also worked for a number of years as Senior Legal Counsel at the European Central Bank (Financial Law Division).  He has degrees in both law and economics, and is admitted to the Brussels Bar (current) and New York Bar (past).

Stefaan is the author of a book entitled Money, monetary claims and foreign exchange. Belgian, European and international perspective (Brussels, Larcier, 2007, 418 p.) as well as of numerous articles in law reviews and books (see Section “Published works”). He regularly gives his expert view in the international media on issues of topical interest, such as, for instance, on EU developments in the area of AML, on the aftermath of the financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis, and on sovereign default. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on a variety of topics, such as corporate accountability and governance, compliance and crisis management. 

• May 2021 to date: Managing Partner (Belgium)

• May 2019 to date: Head of Practice, Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations (Belgium)
• 2012 to date Partner, Linklaters, Brussels
• 2006 - 2012 Managing Associate, Linklaters, Brussels and London
• 2002 - 2006 Senior Legal Counsel, European Central Bank, Financial Law Division, Frankfurt
• 2002 - Senior Associate, Linklaters De Bandt, Brussels
• 1996 - 2001 Associate, De Bandt, van Hecke, Lagae & Loesch, New York and Brussels

Stefaan holds a bachelor degree in Law from Namur University and a master degree in Law from Leuven University (with an Erasmus exchange year at Heidelberg University), as well as a postmaster degree in Company Law from Brussels and Leuven Universities, and an LL.M. from New York University. He also has a bachelor degree in Economics from Namur University.

He is fluent in Dutch (mother tongue), French, English and German.

Stefaan is the author of a book entitled Money, monetary claims and foreign exchange. Belgian, European and international perspective (Brussels, Larcier, 2007, 418 p.; original title: Geld, Geldschulden en deviezen. Belgisch, Europees en internationaal perspectief), as well as of numerous articles in legal reviews and books (see below for selection; full list of publications is available upon request):

On EU AML:

• The EU’s New AML Framework – Focus on the New AML Authority and the Supervision of Selected Obliged Entities [2024] J.I.B.L.R. 39, 302-340
• The role played by EU case law for the development of AML in the EU [2024] J.I.B.L.R. 39, 119-134
• A Key Piece of the EU’s New AML Framework: The 2023 EU Transfer of Funds Regulation [2023] J.I.B.L.R. 38, 364-374
• EU Legislation in the Area of AML: Historical Perspective and Quo Vadis” [2021] International Comparative Legal Guides. Anti-Money Laundering, 4^th Edition, 14-20
• The EU Regulation 2019/2175 and the Strengthening of the EU Supervisory Framework in the Area of AML [2020] J.I.B.L.R. 35, 116-122
• The New EU Directive on Combatting Money Laundering by Criminal Law [2019] International Company and Commercial Law Review 30, 168-179
• The 5^th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive: Virtual Currencies and Other Novelties [2018] J.I.B.L.R. 33, 297-304

On EU Sanctions:

• The Implementation of UN Sanctions at the EU Level [2020] International Comparative Legal Guides. Sanctions, 1^st edition, 17-20 (together with G. Croisant)
•  The EU Blocking Regulation: Navigating a Diverging Sanctions Landscape [2019] International Company and Commercial Law Review” 30, 490-501 (together with L. Truyens)
• The relevance for financial institutions of standard provisions in EU sanctions [2018] World E.C.R. 68, 21-23

On EU financial supervisory proceedings:

• The ECB’s Sanctioning Powers and Related Proceedings under the SSM [2022] J.I.B.L.R. 37, 371-399
•  EU Financial Supervisory Powers, Whistleblowing and Self-reporting [2019] J.I.B.L.R. 34, 317-324
• EU Overview [2019], The International Investigations Review, 9^th edition, 34-39
• EU Cross-border Investigations in the Financial Sector – The Relevance of Privileges and Fundamental Rights [2018] J.I.B.L.R. 33, 221-227
• The ECB’s Investigatory and Sanctioning Powers under the Future Single Supervisory Mechanism [2013] J.I.B.L.R. 28, 422-425
• Appeals Against Decisions of the European Supervisory Authorities [2013] J.I.B.L.R. 28, 9-13
• Name and Shame: Legal Limits to the Publication of Regulatory Decisions in the Financial Sector [2012] Droit bancaire et financier, 158-163 (together with J. Verbist)
• The investigatory powers of the financial supervisors and the rights of defense” (original title in Dutch: “De onderzoeksbevoegdheden van de financiële toezichthouders en de rechten van verdediging”) [2012] Instituut Financieel Recht (ed.), Financiële regulering in de kering (Antwerp-Cambridge: Intersentia), 491-514 (together with J. Verbist)
• The Influence of European Law on the Powers of Financial Supervisors [2010] J.I.B.L.R. 25, 49-52 (together with F. Lefèvre)
• The legal protection before the financial supervisor (CBFA) (original title in Dutch: “De rechtsbescherming voor de financiële toezichthouder (CBFA)”) [2009] Le droit penal financier en marche, Cahiers AEDBF/EVBFR—Belgium, 21 (Antwerp-Oxford: Intersentia), 341–376 (together with J. Verbist)

On EU-restructuring & insolvency:

• The New EU Insolvency Ranking Directive [2018] J.I.B.L.R. 33, 103-107
•  Public Funding and Recapitalisation of Banks in Difficulty in the Eurozone: Who’s Who? [2017] J.I.B.L.R. 32, 108-112
• Bail-in and Emergency Liquidity Assistance under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive [2016] J.I.B.L.R. 31, 309-313