Regulation of Banks, Savings Associations, and Bank, Thrift and Financial Holding Companies

The core of our practice consists of advising in the organization, regulation, and supervision of banks, thrifts, industrial loan companies and their holding companies, affiliated companies, vendors, and counterparties. We advise clients on all aspects of state and federal banking laws, and we regularly represent them before federal and state regulatory agencies.

Venable has a long history of representing community banks and regional banks, as well as large money center banks. We advise on a full array of regulatory issues, including transactions with affiliates, transactions with insiders, lending limits, risk concentrations, capital and liquidity requirements, the Community Reinvestment Act, FDIA Sec. 19 (employing a person who has a conviction or program entry for a covered offense), brokered deposits, indemnification, and golden parachutes.

We counsel clients on issues arising out of enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, such as the creation of living wills, the Durbin Amendment, or the Volcker Rule. Because our firm also has a vibrant relationship with merchants, we have a keen understanding of the issues that can arise between banking institutions and their vendors and counterparties, including relationships with payment processors.

The confluence of our experience with consumer issues, bank enforcement issues, and the defense of directors and officers of failed banks has given us an in-depth understanding of the ways in which institutions may run afoul of the current regulatory environment. We are often brought in to assist on enforcement matters for institutions that do not use us as their regular regulatory counsel.

Government Experience
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Our team includes attorneys who are focused on financial services and regulatory issues and regularly deal with, or formerly served as senior officials and legal counsel of, federal and state agencies responsible for the supervision of financial institutions, including:

  • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  • Federal Reserve Board
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  • Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
  • Federal Housing Finance Agency
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
  • Financial Stability Oversight Council
  • Commodities Futures Trading Commission
  • Department of Justice
  • Department of Treasury
  • Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Office of Management and Budget
  • Federal Trade Commission

Recognition
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  • Chambers USA
    • Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance), 2007 – 2016
    • Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Enforcement & Investigations), 2007 – 2016
  • U.S. News – Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Financial Services Regulation Law, 2012 – 2017, 2020, 2022
  • Legal 500, Financial Services: Regulatory, 2011 – 2023