Luse Gorman’s regulatory compliance and enforcement practice is an integral part of the services we offer our clients. Not only is our team familiar with the practices, policies and personnel of the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC, the FDIC, the CFPB, the Treasury Department, many state banking and securities agencies, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, but many of our attorneys worked at these agencies before joining our law firm. Our Washington, DC location also affords us proximity to the federal regulators, who generally oversee decisions made by district or regional offices and play an integral part in all regulatory compliance and enforcement matters. We also interact routinely with many state banking regulators who oversee applications by our state-chartered clients.
Bank Regulation and the Applications Process
We represent financial services clients of all sizes in all matters that require interfacing with federal and state banking and financial regulators, including holding company formations, de novo banking and branching, offering new financial or non-banking products and services, and charter conversions. We have a dedicated group of attorneys whose primary responsibility is to prepare, file and obtain approval of all regulatory applications filed with the federal and state banking regulators. This group has exceptional experience in identifying issues in the applications process, contacting the appropriate regulator to address any issues, and getting applications completed and approved as expeditiously as possible.
We also routinely provide management with guidance regarding federal and state banking laws, regulations and policies, including restrictions on capital distributions, lending limits, corporate powers, transactions with affiliates and insiders, conflicts of interest, Community Reinvestment Act, Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering laws, and fair lending and consumer compliance issues.
Regulatory Examinations, Investigations and Enforcement
Luse Gorman works with clients to respond to examination findings, manage regulatory inquiries and investigations, develop responsive compliance programs, and negotiate formal and informal enforcement agreements with banking regulators. We have decades of experience with the policies and practices of the various federal and state banking regulators and maintain strong working relationships with these agencies, where many of our attorneys worked prior to joining our team. When an issue arises, we help our clients to respond quickly with the goal of avoiding formal enforcement action by the applicable banking regulator.
Foreign Banking Institutions
Our clients include foreign banks, bank holding companies and other financial institutions, as well as foreign investors, conducting business in the United States. We represent such institutions and individuals before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board and various state banking agencies, in matters such as establishing U.S. branches or operations, acquiring controlling interests in U.S. banks, and responding to regulatory inquiries and investigations.
