Banking & Bank Regulatory

Our Banking attorneys regularly advise banks, bank holding companies and other financial institutions on a wide range of matters in the complex regulatory environment in which they operate. We represent financial institutions of all sizes – from large regional holding companies to smaller publicly held and closely held bank holding companies and community banks. With a level of experience, strength and vision that comes from advising over 250 financial institutions, we work with our clients to achieve their business goals, while navigating the issues ahead.

Our banking, legal and professional teams provide clients with business insights backed by a wide range of legal and regulatory expertise. The core members of our banking team are focused on finding practical solutions to the corporate, securities, and regulatory issues that are unique to financial institutions. Since we represent banks of all sizes – from large regional bank holding companies to local community banks – our attorneys are cognizant of and aim to protect our clients’ bottom line. For example, by forming Regulatory Compliance Groups of like-minded banking institutions, we help our clients pool their resources to stay up-to-date on new regulatory compliance issues in a cost-effective manner.

Our lawyers and compliance professionals have significant experience and expertise in state and federal regulatory and legal matters and issues affecting financial services companies which is virtually unmatched by other firms in our region. We regularly provide counsel on compliance with laws and regulations affecting safety and soundness, consumer protection, fair lending, financial products and services and business operations. Our compliance professionals provide compliance consulting, training, risk assessment and compliance reviews for our financial institution clients in the areas of loans and deposits, insider transactions and Regulation O, fair lending, Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering, and the Community Reinvestment Act.

We also assist financial institutions with a wide range of corporate and securities matters such as corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and securities offerings including offerings of public and private debt and equity, SEC registration and state and federal securities compliance issues. In addition, the firm frequently assists publicly-held companies and their directors, officers, and principal shareholders with their SEC periodic reporting requirements, compliance with the Section 16 insider trading rules, and resales of restricted stock.

Members of this group also have extensive experience in the formation of new banks and bank holding companies, as well as with other issues relating to capital planning and formation. Our attorneys have extensive knowledge relating to the products and services banks can offer their customers in many areas, including insurance, securities, electronic banking, payment systems, consumer and commercial lending, and real estate.

The firm has represented clients before the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Department of Justice, as well as the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance and the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions. In addition to routine regulatory matters and preparing and advocating for approval of various applications, our lawyers assist with safety and soundness and compliance examination issues and negotiate informal and formal supervisory actions with state and federal banking agencies.

As the banking industry evolves, our services stay seamlessly aligned with our clients’ changing needs in a wide array of areas, including:

The experience of our attorneys and compliance professionals is recognized in the banking and lending community, as evidenced by our creation and past authorship of the Compliance Officers Management Manual, Real Estate Lending Compliance Manual and Regulatory Compliance Certification Manual published by LexisNexis. The firm also serves as the state editors for Mississippi and Tennessee for HouseLaw, published by CounselorLibrary.com, LLC. Our lawyers and compliance professionals are often featured speakers at conferences and seminars sponsored by state bankers associations and other trade and professional groups.

Our Banking and Bank Regulatory Group has had substantial involvement in the development of enforceable arbitration provisions and other risk-reduction strategies for lenders in both retail and commercial banking transactions.

Members of the Banking and Bank Regulatory Group regularly work with other attorneys in our firm to find solutions for our bank and financial institution clients in areas such as employment law and personnel matters, employee benefits, executive compensation, commercial lending and syndicated finance, real estate, environmental issues, loan workout and bankruptcy, tax, intellectual property, governmental affairs, commercial litigation, estate and wealth planning and estate and trust administration.