As banking industry regulation has proliferated in the wake of the financial crisis, the Debevoise Banking Group has grown to more than 20 lawyers with experience that spans the landscape of regulatory regimes and agencies. The practice advises financial industry clients on mergers and acquisitions, U.S. and international regulatory and compliance issues, enforcement matters, capital markets activities, new product development, digital assets and cryptocurrency-related activities.
The Group’s work on the Dodd-Frank Act and other U.S. and global efforts at financial reform has, according to Chambers USA, put it on the “cutting edge of regulatory advisory and transactional work.”
With lawyers in New York, London and Washington, D.C., the Banking Group has close relationships with, and long experience advocating before and negotiating with, regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions, including the Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and the New York Department of Financial Services. The team has also worked closely with clients on issues before the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), the Financial Stability Board and other inter-agency groups that are developing new standards and frameworks for the banking and financial services industry. The team includes lawyers who have held senior positions at regulatory and enforcement agencies.
The Banking practice combines a nuanced understanding of the regulatory terrain with the firm’s strong litigation and transactional resources. The result is an ability to handle the most esoteric technical issues, manage critical enforcement and compliance challenges in the new regulatory environment and lead complex and sophisticated transactions.
Working closely with white collar and government investigation attorneys in the firm’s top-ranked Litigation practice, the Group has been involved in myriad enforcement matters, including those involving anti-money laundering and sanctions, fair lending, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, mortgage servicing and securitization, privacy and data security, as well as litigations brought by private parties.