Senior Legal Counsel, JUN Financial Stability Unit, Legal

Bank Negara Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A national central bank in Kuala Lumpur is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to oversee legal operations and ensure compliance with regulatory laws. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 6 years of experience and will be responsible for mentoring junior staff, drafting legal documents, and advising on banking regulations. Strong leadership and advanced knowledge of the Malaysian legal system are essential for this role.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 6 years of legal services experience.
• Experience as in-house counsel or legal practitioner.
• Familiarity with financial regulatory authorities.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and mentor junior legal staff.
• Draft and review legislation and legal documents.
• Provide legal advice on regulatory laws.

Skills

Knowledge of Malaysian legal system

Legal advisory

Legal drafting

Problem-solving

Emotional intelligence

Education

Bachelor of Laws, Master’s or PhD in a legal field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Lexis Nexis

Job description

Senior Legal Counsel, JUN Financial Stability Unit, Legal

As a senior legal counsel, you will supervise, guide, and coach legal counsels and associate legal counsels in providing in‑house legal services to manage the Bank’s legal risks and protect its interests.

1. Supervise, guide and coach legal counsels/associate legal counsels in providing the following in‑house legal services in managing the Bank’s legal risks and protecting the Bank’s interests:
   • Provide legal advice on regulatory laws, e.g., the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA) and Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA), covering areas such as licensing, prudential requirements, Shariah requirements, shareholdings, financial groups, business and market conduct requirements, examination powers, intervention, resolution actions and enforcement actions.
   • Draft relevant primary and secondary legislation issued pursuant to FSA or IFSA in relation to banking and Islamic banking.
   • Draft and/or review other legal instruments as required under FSA/IFSA, such as discussion papers, exposure drafts, policy documents, specification letters, guidance, enforceable undertakings, agreements, MOUs, empowerment instruments etc. in relation to banking and Islamic banking.
   • Review draft enforcement‑related documents such as show‑cause notices and final orders issued pursuant to the Bank’s enforcement actions under FSA/IFSA, excluding AMP, compound and criminal actions.
   • Review draft letters to be issued to third parties, related complaints regarding financial institutions, approval/rejection letters for licensing, shareholding or other relevant matters under FSA/IFSA.
   • Provide legal advice on other laws related to regulation and supervision of conventional banking institutions and Islamic banking institutions, including the Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation Act 2011, Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, Companies Act 2016, Competition Act 2010, Credit Consumer Law, Labuan Financial Services Authority Act 1996, Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 and Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities Act 2010.
   • Review the Bank’s property management agreements (e.g., tenancy agreements) and provide legal advice on related issues.
2. Participate as a presenter or contributor in Bank‑wide events (e.g., Banking Supervision School) to provide legal awareness or education to stakeholders in areas relating to the legal services provided under FSA/IFSA, such as policy document drafting courses and on‑call legal clinics.

Principal Accountabilities

• Assist the Bank in managing its legal risks and protecting its interests by:
  • Leading, guiding and coaching Legal Counsels and Associate Legal Counsels; or collaborating with colleagues in JUN to provide quality, timely, practical and value‑added legal opinions on matters relating to licensing, prudential requirements, Shariah requirements, shareholdings, financial groups, business and market conduct requirements, examination powers, intervention and resolution actions as well as enforcement actions under FSA and IFSA in relation to banking and Islamic banking.
  • Drafting clear and precise primary and subsidiary legislation that accurately reflects the Bank’s policies and requirements in relation to banking and Islamic banking.
  • Drafting and vetting other legal instruments such as discussion papers, exposure drafts, policy documents, specification letters, guidance, enforceable undertakings, agreements, MOUs, empowerment instruments etc. that reflect the Bank’s policies and requirements and facilitate the intended regulatory outcome in relation to banking and Islamic banking.
  • Effectively participating in task forces, projects, Bank committees or external committees, and as needed, leading departmental projects handled by JUN in relation to banking and Islamic banking.
• Undertake or lead, guide, coach and supervise team members in promoting legal awareness among client departments.
• Liaise with, collaborate and manage internal and external stakeholders such as ministries, Attorney General’s Chambers, Treasury Solicitor’s Office, Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation, Securities Commission Malaysia, Consumer Credit Oversight Board Task Force, Malaysian Bar Council, other Government agencies, external legal firms appointed by the Bank, etc.
• Assist the Deputy General Counsel in coaching, developing and empowering team members, and serve as a point of reference to team members and client departments in matters within the responsibility and accountability of the Financial Stability Team.
• Assist or advise the Deputy General Counsel (and JUN, where relevant and necessary) in relation to allocation of sufficient resources within the Financial Stability Team, equitable and fair distribution of work among team members, resolution of conflict and progressive enhancement of technical and leadership competencies of team members in meeting JUN’s and the Bank’s needs and mandates.

Qualifications & Experience

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws / Master’s degree or PhD in a legal field related to the role is an added advantage.

Experience

• Minimum of 6 years working experience in rendering legal services in any of the following capacities:
• In‑house legal counsel in a statutory body, financial institution or other corporate entity;
• Legal practitioner in the Judicial and Legal Service;
• Private legal practitioner.
• Working experience with a central bank or financial regulatory authority is an added advantage.

Technical Skills / Knowledge

• Intermediate to advanced level of knowledge on Malaysian legal system and common law approaches to statutory interpretation.
• Intermediate to advanced level of knowledge in the relevant areas of law including:
• Powers, responsibilities, limitations and liabilities of a statutory body and regulatory authority;
• Regulatory laws administered by the Bank, including the regulatory objectives, the Bank’s powers, the obligations of the regulated entities, etc.;
• Powers, responsibilities, limitations and liabilities of other relevant regulatory authorities such as Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation, Competition Commission, Securities Commission Malaysia, Malaysia Competition Commission, etc. and implications of the laws administered by such authorities in respect of the financial institutions regulated by the Bank;
• Enforcement; and
• Legal risks management.
• Intermediate to advanced level of skills in legal advisory, legal drafting, legal research, legal analysis, legal interpretation, problem‑solving, etc.
• Intermediate to advanced level of leadership skills in people management, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, etc.
• Basic to intermediate level of computer skills including Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Edge, Word, Excel and Power Point, and ability to conduct research using online legal databases (e.g., Lexis Nexis, Lawnet and CLJ).