| Biography | Carl Fornaris is a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig's Miami office where he co-chairs the firm's National Financial Institutions Group. Mr. Fornaris concentrates his practice in the representation of financial services firms in all aspects of their business. In particular, he represents U.S. and non-U.S. firms on finance and corporate matters and provides supervisory and compliance counseling for institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve, OCC, OTS, FDIC, Florida Office of Financial Regulation and other state supervisory authorities. Mr. Fornaris actively advises banks, thrifts, investment advisers, securities broker dealers, money services businesses and other financial institutions on TARP-related matters, FIRREA issues, and compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act. Mr. Fornaris previously served as the Head of Legal and Compliance for the Latin America region of Barclays Bank PLC, with responsibility for managing legal and compliance matters throughout the Latin America region. Mr. Fornaris began his legal career in Washington, D.C. with the law firm of Arnold & Porter. His representative clients include: Barclays Bank PLC; Standard Chartered Bank; Atlas One Financial Group, LLC; U.S. Century Bank; Banco Colpatria, S.A.; SunTrust Bank; and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Areas of Concentration · Banking and financial services law, regulation and compliance · Commercial lending · Latin America cross-border transactions · Anti-money laundering Significant Representations · Experience as counsel for numerous domestic and non-U.S. banks, bank holding companies, financial holding companies, savings associations, thrift holding companies, Edge corporations, broker dealers, trust companies, mortgage companies, and money services businesses in a wide range of corporate transactions and regulatory/compliance matters. Experienced in the formation and licensing of these entities, as well as their expansion, merger, acquisition and divestment before the OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, OTS, and state supervisory authorities, including the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and New York State Banking Department. · Representation of numerous banks and thrifts in connection with critical examination reports and/or threatened enforcement actions relating to capital, asset quality, management, compliance and other issues, including TARP and FIRREA. · Compliance counseling for banks, broker dealers, money services, businesses and other financial institutions in respect of the USA PATRIOT Act amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act generally and the implementation by the United States Department of the Treasury of the PATRIOT Act's enhanced due diligence, information-sharing, correspondent bank certification, customer identification program, and anti-money laundering program provisions in particular. · Experience with other Federal banking laws and regulations, including Gramm Leach Bliley Act, Bank Holding Company Act and Reg Y, National Bank Act, Federal Reserve Act, Federal Deposit Insurance Act (including the FIRREA and FDICIA amendments thereto), International Banking Act, Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act and Reg K, and Home Owners' Loan Act. · Representation of financial institutions and borrowers in domestic and Latin America financing transactions of all types, including secured and unsecured bilateral and syndicated credit facilities, with an emphasis on project financings, asset-based loans, acquisition financings, bridge loans, and letter of credit-backed financings. Significant transactions include: - Representation of major European telecommunications firm in project finance facilities for telecommunications projects in El Salvador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Uruguay. - Representation of Central American foreign sovereign in Brady bond exchange offer. - Representation of bank lenders in largest syndicated loan to private Guatemalan borrower. Professional & Community Involvement · Member, Board of Directors, South Florida Banking Institute · Member, Board of Directors, Florida International Bankers Association · Member, Advisory Board, Acción USA, Inc. Awards & Recognition · Chambers & Partners Latin America, Corporate M&A, 2009 · Listed, Chambers Global, a directory of the most highly recommended lawyers world-wide, Chambers and Partners, 2009 edition · Member, team ranked as the No.1 corporate law firm in Miami as selected by corporate directors, in the annual "Legal Industry Research Study" by Corporate Board Member magazine (eighth consecutive year), 2002-2009 · Listed, Who's Who Legal Florida, 2008 · Listed, Best Lawyers in America, 2008 and 2009 · Ranked in Banking & Finance, Chambers & Partners USA Guide, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world, 2005-2008, every edition · Named, "Legal Elite" by Florida Trend magazine, 2006-2008 · Selected by Super Lawyers magazine, 2007 and 2008 · Pro Bono Service Award, Dade County Bar Association, 2005 Articles, Publications, & Lectures Articles · Quoted, "USA PATRIOT Act: SEC Brings First-Ever Enforcement Action Against Broker-Dealer for Noncompliance," Derivatives Financial Products Report, November 2006 · Quoted, "Revised BSA examiners manual less vague, adds details on risk, insurance," Moneylaundering.com, July 28, 2006 · Co-author, "USA PATRIOT Act--Final and Proposed Customer Due Diligence Regulations Applicable to Banks, Broker Dealers, Futures Commission Merchants and Mutual Funds," Electronic Banking Law and Commerce Report, March 2006 · Quoted, "New Rules May Cost Banks Some Business," South Florida Business Journal, January 3, 2006 · Quoted, "Feeling the Squeeze: Correspondent Banking," Latin Finance, May 2005 · Quoted, "Bankers Are Learning To Live With PATRIOT Act Headaches," Miami Today, March 17, 2005 · Quoted, "Foreign Bankers Rediscover South Florida," Miami Daily Business Review, February 15, 2005 · Quoted in the Congressional Quarterly, March 2, 2004 · Quoted, "Treasury Proposes Tougher Money-Laundering Rules," Corporate Legal Times, July 2003 Books · Quoted, The Fundamentals of Hedge Fund Management by Daniel A. Strachman, p. 48, 2007 · Update-author, Federal Bank Holding Company Law 11th ed., 1995 Lectures · Moderator, "Bank CEO Panel," presented by the South Florida Banking Institute, Miami, Florida, May 20, 2009 · Panelist, 7th Annual Offshore Alert Financial Due Diligence Conference, Miami Beach, Florida, April 27, 2009 · Panelist, 9th Annual FIBA AML Compliance Conference, Miami, Florida, February 19, 2009 · Moderator, "Examination Issues from the Bank's Perspective," Institute for International Bankers' U.S. Regulatory and Compliance Orientation, New York City, July 17, 2008 · Panelist, "New Legislative and Regulatory Initiatives," Financial Markets Association's 17th Annual Securities Compliance Seminar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 30, 2008 · Moderator, "Anti-Money Laundering," FMA's Annual Securities Compliance Seminar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 30, 2008 · Panelist, "Money Laundering in Brazil," Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, Miami, Florida, April 18, 2008 · Panelist, "M & A Update," National Association of Corporate Directors Bank Director Workshop, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 8, 2008 · Moderator, "A Regulatory Panel," presented by the South Florida Banking Institute, Miami, Florida, May 23, 2007 · Panelist, The First Conference of the United States - Latin America Private Sector Dialogue on AML/CFT, Bogota, Colombia, April 2007 · Lecture, "Coping with Regulatory & Compliance Issues," National Association of Corporate Directors Bank Director Workshop, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 29, 2007 · Lecture, "Financial Institution Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery: Legal And Compliance Primer," Terremark Worldwide, Inc. Conference, Miami, Florida, November 2005 · Lecture, "The New U.S. Bank Secrecy Act Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual: What You Need To Know Now," Offshore Alert Annual Due Diligence Conference, Miami, Florida, November 2005 · Lecture, "The Law: Risk and Liability," Offshore Alert's 3rd Annual Financial Due Diligence Conference, Coral Gables, Florida, October 2004 · Lecture, "New Threat of Russian Mob's Money Laundering," ACAMS, January 15, 2004 · Lecture, "Offshore Banking" session of 3rd Annual Bear Stearns Central American/Caribbean Conference, Key Biscayne, Florida, September 2003 · Lecture, USA PATRIOT Act Update, before International Bank Operations Association, Miami, Florida, March 2003 Miscellaneous · Quoted in Latin American Advisor, January 2004 · Interview, "All Things Considered," National Public Radio, December 2003 · Quoted in Kiplinger's Personal Finance, September 2003 · Quoted, "Banks Dig In Along the War's Front Line in a High Stakes Bid To Stop Money Laundering," Bank Technology News, March 2003 · Quoted in Latin America Advisor, November 25, 2002 · Quoted, "The Very Long Arm of US Law," Latin Finance, June 2002 · Quoted, "How Will New Financial Privacy Laws Impact Your Ancillary Services?," Fee Income Growth Strategies, June 2000 · Quoted, "Observations on Financial Modernization Law," Community Bank President, March 1, 2000 · Co-author, "The Millennium Bug: The Legal Liabilities Looming in the Year 2000," Noticias, Spring 1998 |
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