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Services Available
Commercial Lending and Leasing
Group members represent financial service providers and their customers in all types and sizes of commercial financings, including:
- Syndicated and bilateral loans
- Acquisition financings
- Asset-based loans
- Factoring
- Project financings
- Mezzanine financings
- Equipment leasing
Real Estate Lending
We have represented institutional lenders in connection with real estate financing transactions, including:
- Acquisition and development loans
- Construction loans
- Leasehold financings
- Multi-property and multi-state financing transactions
Consumer Financial Services
The National Financial Institutions Group represents consumer financial service providers in:
- Federal and state regulation of consumer credit and other financial services
- Residential mortgage lending
- Automotive, boat and manufactured housing indirect lending
- Product development, implementation and maintenance
- Defense of consumer litigation
- Electronic lending
- Privacy and information security
- Credit, debit and stored value card system issuance, processing and operations
Formation, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Divestment of Financial Institutions
The National Financial Institutions Group is experienced in the formation and licensing of financial institutions of all types, as well as their expansion, merger, acquisition and divestment before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and key state supervisory authorities, including:
- De novo organization of banks and thrifts
- Non-bank subsidiaries
- U.S. branches, agencies and representative offices of non-U.S. banks
- Stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions of financial institutions and holding companies
- Branch acquisitions
- Acquisition of assets from FDIC-intervened institutions
- Liquidation of existing branches and offices
Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Counseling
We counsel clients in connection with federal and state banking laws and regulations, including:
- Bank Holding Company Act and Regulation Y
- Bank Secrecy Act, including the recent USA PATRIOT Act amendments
- Change in Bank Control Act and Bank Merger Act
- National Bank Act
- Federal Reserve Act, including Sections 23A and 23B and Regulation O
- Federal Deposit Insurance Act (including FIRREA and FDICIA)
- International Banking Act, Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act and Regulation K
- Gramm Leach Bliley Act
- Community Reinvestment Act
- Consumer protection laws and regulations such as Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, Real Estate Settlement Procedures and Fair Credit Reporting
We have represented regulated financial institutions (and their officers and directors) in connection with critical examination reports and enforcement actions relating to capital, asset quality, management, compliance and other issues. With offices in government hubs, we consult regularly with the staffs of the OCC, FDIC, Federal Reserve, OTS, SEC, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and state banking and securities agencies to give our clients the most practical solutions to their legal and regulatory issues.
Securities Offerings by Financial Institutions
We represent financial institutions, financial institution holding companies and their subsidiaries in public and private securities offerings and compliance with securities laws, including:
- Initial and secondary public offerings
- Debt and trust preferred securities
- Shareholder and employee stock plans
- Sarbanes-Oxley matters
- Periodic SEC reporting
Captial Markets and Securitizations
We participate in a wide variety of securitized and structured products encompassing almost every asset class in the mortgage, asset-backed, tax-exempt bond-backed, municipal and structured products markets. Through our representation of every type of market participant – from major financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies to specialty finance companies – we have a breadth of experience that few law firms can offer. We regularly handle matters in the following areas:
- Residential and commercial mortgage loans
- Credit cards
- Tax liens
- Cross-border securitizations
- Equipment leases
- Student loans
- Aircraft leases
Workouts, Restructurings and Insolvency
We advise banks and other financial institutions on all aspects of reorganizations, bankruptcies, restructurings, workouts and buyouts. We represent distressed debt buyers in LSTA and non-LSTA transactions. Our clients also include buyers who are interested in holding the debt for investment purposes and for taking control of the underlying companies. This area requires coordination and interaction between the Financial Institutions, Business Reorganization & Bankruptcy and Corporate & Securities Groups to accomplish the client’s goals in the most cost efficient method.
Trade Finance
We advise financial institutions and other clients on legal issues affecting trade financing transactions, as well as facilities for commercial and standby letters of credit, bonds, forfeiting and bankers’ acceptances.
Swaps and Derivatives
The National Financial Institutions Group structures complex derivative products in both the conventional and municipal markets, including:
- Interest rate, currency, equity, fixed income and commodity swaps
- Caps, floors, collars and rate locks
- Total return swaps
- Credit default swaps
- First to default swaps
- Accreting basket swaps
- Puts, calls, knock-in and knock-out options
- Swaptions
- Variance swaps
- Warrants
- Synthetic securities
- Forward contracts, prepaid variable forwards and futures contracts
- Guaranteed investment contracts
- Benefit responsive investment contracts
Other Business Needs
We counsel financial institution clients in other areas that impact their business and operations, including:
- Litigation
- Information technology and intellectual property
- Tax
- Labor and employment
- Real estate acquisition, disposition and leasing
- Governmental relations
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