Banking and Financial Services Regulatory

We advise clients throughout the full life cycle of their business and on all aspects of state and federal banking laws. Our team is strengthened by former government officials, whose agency experience allows us to offer solutions tailored to complex issues unique to the banking industry.

The core of our bank regulatory practice consists of advising on the regulation and supervision of banks, thrifts, industrial loan companies and their holding companies, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, vendors and counterparties, and foreign banks with U.S. operations and activities. We know the federal and state banking agencies because our team includes attorneys who have worked at, or have decades of experience representing clients before, the agencies.

Our team has a long history of representing banks – from the community and regional level to large money center banks. In a vast, complicated, and constantly evolving regulatory environment, we advise on a full array of regulatory issues, including control, permissible activities and investments, preemption, third-party relationships, transactions with affiliates, transactions with insiders, lending limits, capital and liquidity requirements, the Volcker Rule, the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), anti-tying, margin regulation compliance, and brokered deposits.

From forming new charters and the creation of bank and financial products and services, through mergers and acquisitions, supervision of ongoing operations, defending against enforcement actions, and dealing with issues arising out of bank receiverships, we are there to advise our clients. As financial technology or “fintech” rapidly advances, we assist our clients with the full spectrum of regulatory compliance matters related to digital banking, new product development, fintech investments, partnerships, and joint ventures.

For our foreign banking organization clients, we advise on the International Banking Act and application of the Bank Holding Company Act. We also advise foreign banking organizations on alternatives for initial entry into the United States and permissible activities and assist them with the acquisition of U.S. subsidiary banks; establishment of branch, agency, and representative offices in the United States; and the wind-down and liquidation of U.S. offices.

Experience
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  • Assisting numerous banks and bank holding companies with bank and non-bank mergers and acquisitions
  • Advising banks on new product and service offerings, including remote cash deposit offerings
  • Advising banks and bank holding companies on Volcker Rule covered fund compliance
  • Advising numerous banks in examination preparations, strategic risk management, and development of a strategic plan under the CRA
  • Advising multiple banks on compliance with regulatory enforcement actions
  • Assisting a foreign bank in obtaining a representative office license, which was the first U.S. entry of a bank from that country
  • Advising multiple foreign banks on the wind-down of their U.S. offices
  • Assisting multiple banks on partnerships with fintech companies and the related development and implementation of online lending platforms
  • Advising banks on their partnerships with fintech companies and related risk management

Government Experience
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Experience working for:

  • Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB)
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ)

Recognition
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  • Chambers Fintech USA, Payments & Lending, 2023
  • Legal 500, Financial Services: Regulatory, 2011 – 2023
  • U.S. News – Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Financial Services Regulation Law, 2012 – 2017, 2020, 2022
  • Law360, Consumer Protection Group of the Year, 2017
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2019 – 2022 (Venable attorneys selected for inclusion)
  • Martindale-Hubbell (Venable attorneys selected for inclusion)