CONNIE FRIESEN is a banking partner in Sidley’s New York office.
Ms. Friesen provides regulatory and transactional advice to a wide variety of international and domestic financial institutions, including commercial banks and bank holding companies, trust companies, internet banks, securities firms and insurance companies. She counsels clients on the development of new financial services and the implications of various domestic and international bank regulatory considerations affecting them. She provides advice on the Dodd-Frank Act and its consequences for international banks. Ms. Friesen counsels banks on the appropriate responses to pending and actual regulatory enforcement actions and has developed comprehensive global compliance and corporate governance programs as well as targeted anti-money laundering, OFAC and privacy compliance programs for a number of international banks. She often assists international banks planning to open branches, agencies, representative offices, broker-dealers and finance companies in the United States.
Ms. Friesen has given special attention to securities and capital markets activities, syndicated lending transactions, ADR, medium-term note and commercial paper programs, and acquisitions and joint ventures involving U.S. and international institutions. She has assisted a number of international banks in developing appropriate structures for the cross-border conduct of banking and securities activities. She also has experience in working with international banks on a wide range of issues of supervisory concern such as corporate governance, risk management and credit review.
Ms. Friesen has been recognized by Chambers USA in Financial Services Regulation every year since 2007.
Recent Conferences and Participatory Events
- The FRB Proposal on Enhanced Supervision for U.S. Operations of International Banks, Association of International Bank Auditors, March 13, 2013
- The Dodd-Frank Act: Key Implementation Issues and Outlook for 2013, Association of Trade and Forfaiting in the Americas (ATFA), February 13, 2013
- Enhanced Supervision for U.S. Operations of Foreign Banking Organizations: The FRB Proposal and Its Implications, Sidley Austin seminar for International Banks, January 10, 2013
- Managing International Bank Reputation Risk in an Internet World, Institute of International Bankers Risk Management – Compliance Seminar, October 17, 2012.
- The Dodd-Frank Act and the New Direction of Banking Reform in the United States, Weiser Mazars Conference on Global Financial Services Reform, August 1, 2012.
- The Dodd-Frank Act and European Banks: Meeting Cross-Border Requirements, Swedish Bankers and Securities Association, May 3, 2012.
- Developing a Framework for Comprehensive Consolidated Supervision, Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, March 21, 2012.
- Managing Counterparty Credit Risk, Institute of International Bankers Risk Management – Compliance Seminar, October 17, 2011.
- Bank Examination Issues: Some Practical Advice for International Banks, Institute of International Bankers – Conference of State Bank Supervisors Conference, July 20, 2011.
- Anti-Money Laundering Programs in a Global Context: Some Practical Guidelines for Head Office – U.S. Branch Relations, Institute of International Bankers, May 23, 2011.