Ralph Sharpe is head of Venable’s Financial Services Group Risk Management and Compliance Team, which provides a full range of legal services to banks, savings associations and other financial institutions such as legal and compliance audits, management studies, responses to supervisory and enforcement actions, and litigation support services. Mr. Sharpe draws upon his 26 years of experience in key positions with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), including Director of Enforcement and Compliance, Deputy Comptroller for Bank Technology, and Deputy Comptroller for Community and Consumer Compliance, during which time he also chaired the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's Consumer Compliance Task Force.  In addition, Mr. Sharpe served as the Deputy Comptroller for Multinational Banking at the OCC, where he was responsible for the supervision of the ten largest national banks.

Mr. Sharpe’s experience with the OCC provides him with a unique perspective of the financial services regulatory environment and a deep understanding of how the regulatory process functions. Having held both legal and bank supervision positions while with the OCC, he is intimately familiar with all aspects of the financial services regulatory process.

Significant Matters

Since joining Venable, Mr. Sharpe has represented numerous financial services clients as well as officers and directors in regulatory enforcement actions, and investigations involving a wide variety of issues. His clients have ranged from community and large regional banks and thrifts to Fortune 500 companies and have encompassed areas ranging from BSA and OFAC compliance to corporate applications, bank regulatory issues and structure issues. Mr. Sharpe was part of the legal team that advised the Treasury Department on its Capital Purchase Program for mutual institutions, and more recently, led a team of lawyers responsible for conducting a major litigation risk assessment for a large participant in the mortgage services industry.