Banking and Financial Institutions
Key Contacts
David J. Harris
Partner Washington, D.C. +1 202 261 3385
David L. Ansell
Senior Counsel Washington, D.C. +1 202 261 3433
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Resolving complex transactional, regulatory, litigation and enforcement challenges
Dechert is a trusted advisor to financial institutions worldwide, with extensive sector experience built upon a century-long heritage of bank representations.
Chambers USA has consistently ranked Dechert nationally for Financial Services: Enforcement, Compliance and M&A. Both and ranked us nationally for Financial The Legal 500 IFLR1000 Services: Regulatory (2017).
Our lawyers advise large, regional, foreign and community financial services companies, their holding companies and investors, private and registered funds, and asset managers with regard to the most complex transactional, regulatory, litigation and enforcement challenges that confront them.
Clients value the level of sophistication and professionalism of our legal team. Many of our lawyers once served as government officials and regulators, shaping industry developments of recent decades. These lawyers have earned the respect of federal and state regulators, and the accolades of numerous leading industry organizations.
Keeping banking clients on the leading edge
Dechert’s lawyers keep clients up-to-date on critical financial services regulatory changes through hot-topic web sites. We are well known for our instructive materials on Dodd-Frank and most recently for our Financial Regulation Reform Tracker, which closely monitors the reform of regulation that the Trump Administration has initiated.
Dechert is a trusted advisor to financial institutions worldwide, with extensive sector experience built upon a century-long heritage of bank representations.Chambers USA has consistently
ranked Dechert nationally for Financial Services: Enforcement, Compliance and M&A. Both The Legal 500 and IFLR1000 ranked us nationally for Financial Services: Regulatory (2017).Our lawyers advise large, regional, foreign and community financial services companies, their holding companies and investors, private and registered funds, and asset managers with regard to the most complex transactional, regulatory, litigation and enforcement challenges that confront them.Clients value the level of sophistication and professionalism of our legal team. Many of our lawyers once served as government officials and regulators, shaping industry developments of recent decades. These lawyers have earned the
M&A
Foreign Banking Organizations with respect to their acquisitions and investments in the United StatesBank Holding Companies with respect to their establishment of joint ventures to invest in middle market commercial loansWells Fargo’s acquisition of the banking assets of GECCBank of Ireland’s €1.1 billion recapitalization by five U.S. private investorsCapital One’s US$9 billion acquisition of ING FSBCIT Group’s acquisition of IMB Holdco (parent of OneWest Bank)
Marketplace Lending & Fintech Representations
BitGo, Inc. in connection with an equity investment by Goldman SachsA Digital Asset and Technology Company with respect to the establishment of a
special purpose national bank charterde novoCertain Large Mutual Funds Complexes and their Boards of Directors with respect to the acquisition by the Funds of residential mortgage loans.Morgan Stanley Investment Management in the establishment of AIP Alternative Lending Fund A and AIP Alternative Lending Fund P - registered closed-end funds organized primarily to acquire marketplace loans.
Open Bank Recaps & Acquisitions
Sterling Financial Corp.’s US $730 million recapitalization by Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, L.P. and other private investorsDoral Financial Corp.’s recapitalization by a consortium of private equity investors led by Bear Stearns Merchant BankCitadel LLC’s 19 percent equity investment, US$3.1 billion asset-backed security purchase, rebuttal of control, debt funding and subsequent exchange transactions involving E*TRADE Financial CorpNortheast Bancorp’s recapitalization by East Rock Capital, Arlon Capital Partners and other investors
Failed Bank Acquisitions
IndyMac Federal Bank’s sale by the FDIC to Paulson & Co., Inc., J.C. Flowers & Co. and other private investors
EXPERIENCE
Investments in acquisition companies including, NBH Holding Corp., Community & Southern Holdings, Inc., Bond Street Holdings, Inc. and Blue Ridge Holdings, to acquire failed banks from the FDIC
Regulatory Enforcement
Negotiation of a Consent Order between and theMelrose Credit Union New York State Department of Financial InstitutionsNegotiation of a Consent Agreement between and the a state bank FDICAdvice regarding the Consent Orders with the and related to the National OCC OTS Mortgage Settlement impacting the 14 largest U.S. mortgage servicers
FSOC & FSB Representations
An insurance company and with regard to large financial services companiesthe FSOC designation process and filingsThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the as amicus in MetLife’s challenge in ICI federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals to its designation of MetLife as a SIFI by FSOCA large financial services company in the administrative challenge of FSOC SIFI designation rules
Financial services companies value our practical experience in guiding their compliance with regulatory challenges and the development of alternative structures, transactions and operations impacted by rules stemming from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) and the balance of federal and state regulation which impact nearly every aspect of their business. We appear for our clients before the:
Federal Reserve Board (FRB)Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)Department of Justice (DOJ)New York Department of Financial ServicesOther states that maintain a high profile in financial institutions regulation and enforcement
We counsel banking organizations and investors on a wide range of regulatory matters, including bank acquisitions, the establishment of de novo banks and the scope of permissible activities and investments under federal and state banking law. We regularly advise clients on the application of the Volcker Rule and in structuring non-controlling investments in banks and other entities. We also closely monitor developments in the
FEDERAL AND STATE BANK REGULATION
marketplace lending and Fintech space and advise clients on a range of related matters, including state licensing requirements, the applicability of federal preemption and the process for obtaining an OCC Fintech or other special purpose charter.
Top-ranked for M&A by the most prominent league tables and legal directories, Dechert advises clients engaged in mergers, tender and exchange offers, leveraged buyouts, cross-border transactions, going-private transactions, strategic alliances, collaborations and joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, proxy contests, and special committee assignments.
During the planning phase, we analyze tax and regulatory implications and conduct risk assessments. Our interdisciplinary team handles every aspect of complex regulated transactions, including mergers between healthy banks, controlling and non-controlling investments in banks by private equity or hedge funds and FDIC-assisted acquisitions of failed institutions. We understand the importance of developing complementary regulatory, transactional and litigation strategies that serve achieving our clients’ objectives.
Dechert’s bank regulatory lawyers have extensive experience in working on corporate transactions which require regulatory approvals. They are experts in the federal banking agencies’ control rules which apply to the issues that inevitably arise in these matters.
We regularly handle many of the most complex bank and financial institution enforcement cases, whether working to prevent charges from being filed, mounting a proactive defense, negotiating a settlement, or handling pretrial and trial advocacy.
Our lawyers conduct internal investigations on behalf of companies and their boards of directors relating to regulatory violations, disclosure issues, accounting irregularities, whistleblower matters, money laundering, insider transactions, financial statement irregularities, regulatory filings, market timing and insider trading issues, among others.
We have extensive experience representing banks and companies in investigations and proceedings pursued by regulatory agencies and the DOJ.
Our lawyers have appeared before the FSOC and its various subcommittees, commented on or challenged its pronouncements and designations regarding systemically important
M&A TRANSACTIONS AND CONTESTS FOR CONTROL
BANK ENFORCEMENT
SYSTEMIC STABILITY REGULATION
financial institutions (SIFIs) on behalf of large insurance companies, non-depository financial institutions and private as well as registered investment funds and managers.
We have also submitted a variety of comments to the FSOC and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) on a wide range of systemic issues and policies impacting our clients and their potential designation. We have also participated in the first litigation against FSOC, filing an amicus brief in support of MetLife’s challenge to its designation as a SIFI.
Our lawyers have handled dozens of ground-breaking lawsuits in a variety of federal and state courts involving a wide range of regulatory policies, actions, transactions and regulations.
We are also regularly called upon to represent officers, directors and other professionals at failed financial institutions against actions by oversight bodies and in related civil, criminal or administrative litigation. Our hands-on experience with federal agencies gives us a valuable understanding of the decision-making processes that surround possible director and officer (D&O) actions by the FDIC or investigations by the Inspector General.
Dechert lawyers have deep experience advising on federal receivership issues related to the FDIC. Additionally, we possess a thorough understanding of the impact of FDIC receivership rules on the claims and counter-claims that arise when a bank’s parent holding company files for bankruptcy. We regularly represent creditors, investors and borrowers in the claims and receivership resolution process, as well as related lawsuits against FDIC Receivers.
Our lawyers are also well known for authoring hundreds of articles, treatises, manuals and books such as:
The Bank Investor’s Survival Guide (2016)The Volcker Rule: Commentary and Analysis, published by Thomson Reuters (2014)A Strategic Guide to the ATR/QM Rules, published by the ABA (2013)The ATR/QM Legal Stress Test (2013)Bank D&O Defense Manual (2012)Dechert LLP’s Analysis of Financial Regulatory Reform for the American Bankers
(2010)Association
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION LITIGATION
FDIC RECEIVERSHIPS
DEEP EXPERTISE
The Bank Holding Company Guide: New Rules of the Road for Banks and their Investors (2009)Equity Investments and Controlling Acquisitions Involving U.S. Financial Institutions (2007)Banker’s Pocket Guide to Information Security (2005)21 Century Money, Banking & Commercest (1998)The Fair Lending Guide (1995)The Management of Risks Created by Internet-Initiated Value Transfers (1995)Contracting with the RTC and FDIC (1991)
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GILES BELSEY
PartnerBanking and Financial Institutions(more)LondonT +44 20 7184 [email protected]
STEPHEN H. BIER
PartnerInvestment Funds: U.S.(more)New YorkT +1 212 698 [email protected]
CAROLINE BLACK
PartnerWhite Collar, Compliance and Investigations(more)LondonT +44 20 7184 [email protected]
ARNE BOLCH
National PartnerFinancial Services M&A(more)LuxembourgT + 352 45 62 62 27FrankfurtT +49 69 [email protected]
CATHERINE BOTTICELLI
PartnerSecurities Litigation/Enforcement(more)Washington, D.C.T +1 202 261 3368
JEFFREY A. BROWN
PartnerLitigation(more)New YorkT +1 212 698 [email protected]
Related Services
Financial Restructuring
Litigation
Mergers and Acquisitions
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