Licensing & Transactions
Advice and support on charter options, applications, and financial services transactions
We assist financial institutions and fintechs with charter strategy, regulatory applications, and transactions, including bank-fintech partnerships and acquisitions. Our practice covers the full range of licensing options including commercial bank charters, ILC charters, trust bank charters, and money transmission licenses. We prepare regulatory applications, conduct due diligence on acquisition targets, advise on control issues under the Bank Holding Company Act, Bank Merger Act, and Change in Bank Control Act, and help structure bank-fintech partnerships to address regulatory expectations.
Services provided by the Licensing & Transactions practice include:
Capital Analysis:
We assess treatment of assets, instruments, and transactions under bank or GSE capital rules.
Charter Options:
We provide clients with strategic legal advice on charter, license, and operating model options, including charters for commercial banks, ILCs, national trust banks, and limited-purpose state banks, as well as money transmission and foreign bank licenses.
Control Analysis:
We provide advice on control issues under the Bank Holding Company Act, Change in Bank Control Act, and similar laws.
Due Diligence:
We conduct regulatory due diligence on financial services acquisition and investment targets.
FinTech-Bank Partnerships:
We advise fintechs on structuring their bank partner relationships and the desirable number, size, charter, and other characteristics of potential bank partners.
Product Advice:
We assess new financial products and services, providing advice on regulatory requirements, licensing obligations, communication strategies, and product structure recommendations.
Regulatory Applications:
We assist clients with applications related to specific initiatives and transactions, including applications for charters, conversions, acquisitions, and new activities.