Financial Institutions Regulatory
Sidley's Financial Institutions Regulatory practice group offers counseling, transaction and litigation services to a wide variety of domestic and international financial services providers, including depository and non-depository financial institutions and their holding companies. As part of the firm’s national and international practice, our lawyers advise clients in virtually all areas of compliance with laws affecting financial institutions, their holding companies and affiliates. This work includes:
- Assisting clients in forming and acquiring banks, savings associations and other depository institutions (whether full-service or limited-purpose) and obtaining regulatory approval for charters, federal deposit insurance and holding company registration
- Advising clients regarding the purchase or sale of loan portfolios and the negotiation of program agreements, joint ventures and similar arrangements
- Assisting in the development of new products, services and distribution networks
- Advising clients on federal and state laws regulating consumer lending and deposit taking, funds transfer and trust operations and counseling clients on the federal preemption of state laws. Also advising clients on federal and state laws regulating mortgage credit card, automobile and other financing programs, as well as deposit programs
- Advising clients in connection with the acquisition of mortgage banking companies, finance companies, trust companies, investment advisers and other providers of non-bank financial services
- Assisting in corporate restructuring, consolidation of operations and interstate expansion
- Advising a wide range of clients, including payment networks and providers, individual banking organizations and Internet payment providers, regarding electronic banking and commerce and electronic distribution of government benefits
- Counseling clients on fair lending and community reinvestment compliance strategies, including in connection with examinations, investigations, protested applications and litigation
- Counseling clients on financial privacy issues, including the requirements under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the EU Data Protection Directive and anti-money laundering issues
- Advising clients in connection with the negotiation of enforcement agreements and memoranda of understanding with federal and state bank regulatory agencies
- Counseling clients on a wide range of public policy issues including federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives
- Assisting clients in the acquisition of the assets and liabilities of failed institutions from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Litigating consumer class action claims and other claims that are specifically targeted to depository institutions and other financial institutions
- Counseling clients on compliance with the interrelated federal and state regulatory schemes governing the sale of securities, insurance, mutual fund and commodity products by depository and non-depository institutions
- Advising clients on anti-money laundering (AML) issues, including the development of AML programs, policies and procedures to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by USA PATRIOT Act and Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) regulations
- Counseling clients on issues under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the BHCA)
- Advising clients on the establishment and regulation under the BHCA of nonbanking affiliates of banks, including broker-dealers and investment advisers
Our lawyers assist U.S. and non-U.S. financial institutions and their holding companies, and electronic payment systems, as well as securities, insurance, finance, mortgage and other diversified financial services companies. Lawyers in our London office advise on EU financial services directives and their implementation in the UK and provide transactional services to financial institutions and businesses throughout Europe. We represent financial services clients before the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision and state bank regulatory agencies and the Financial Services Authority in the UK. We also assist clients with drafting and presenting testimony before Committees of the United States Congress. Our lawyers also have appeared on behalf of clients before the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and state securities regulators. In addition, we have represented clients before the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeal, federal district courts and state courts.
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