Banking And Financial Services Investigations And Enforcement

Breeding Carter’s Financial Services Enforcement Practice routinely represents national and foreign financial services companies in a multitude of inquiries, investigations, administrative enforcement proceedings, and lawsuits initiated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Department of Justice (DOJ), and state financial regulators and attorneys general. Our sophisticated financial regulatory capabilities, industry-specific enforcement and litigation expertise, and wealth of experience with financial services regulators, make us the go to firm. If an inquiry, examination, or investigation leads to enforcement or supervisory action, we draw on our significant experience to work toward an acceptable and efficient resolution. Our philosophy of aggressive litigation of enforcement matters in administrative and judicial proceedings, assists our clients in avoiding significant penalties. Our most successful representations are those you never hear about.

Financial services companies must work to get ahead of potential violations before regulators initiate action. We assist clients in identifying potential risks and instituting compliance programs before government action. We work with management, audit committees, and special litigation committees to conduct enterprise, product, or business-line specific risk assessments and internal investigations. We work with clients to advise and represent them in a wide range of matters relating to the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) rules under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and applicable state AML laws.

Our attorneys regularly counsel clients on compliance issues stemming from OFAC’s sanctions programs, including Iran sanctions issues for domestic and international clients. We often assist financial institutions with responding to grand jury investigations and subpoena inquiries; conducting cross-border internal investigations; and representing financial institutions or individuals in regulatory and/or criminal and civil enforcement actions. We are able to draw on our experienced white collar and litigation practice to handle these issues with multidisciplinary teams across the globe to provide the most effective representation for our clients.

In addition, the expansion in civil regulatory enforcement has led to significant risk for executives to be referred for criminal prosecution. Our Knoxville attorneys represent corporate and individual clients in all stages of federal and state civil and criminal proceedings.