In the United States, Mayer Brown’s Consumer Financial Services group is considered a leading practice of its kind. The group includes a dedicated team of lawyers and professionals who advise residential mortgage lenders, non-mortgage consumer credit lenders and card and payment system operators with regard to the full panoply of federal and state laws that impact their businesses operations. Members of the group serve as trusted advisors in every aspect of the consumer lending industry, including licensing and approvals, regulatory compliance, government enforcement, internal investigations, class action defense, and public policy and government affairs.

In the UK, the group includes lawyers who have held positions in the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury and have a deep insight into their operation, priorities and personnel.

Globally, our experience and industry knowledge, combined with the diverse skills of our lawyers, allow us to vigorously represent our clients before regulatory bodies and in formal legal proceedings.

We are also experienced in transactions and activities that present regulatory complexities unique to the financial services industry, including:

• Regulatory and compliance-related requirements of establishing, operating and managing various investment schemes and structures
• Cross-border regulatory compliance and enforcement matters
• Providing strategic advice and assistance in connection with inspections and investigations by regulators
• Internal investigations
• Enforcement proceedings by regulators and linked litigation
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Joint ventures and strategic alliances
• Stock/asset acquisitions or dispositions
• Capital and corporate structure changes
• Anti-money laundering and anti-bribery and corruption
• Economic and trade sanctions
• Investment in, and distribution of, securities, commodities, insurance and derivatives

Lastly, our lawyers continually monitor critical industry developments and regularly lecture on complex regulatory compliance issues, including those related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”) in the US, and ongoing regulatory reform legislation in the EU. For example, in each of the past three years we hosted seminars on the key business and compliance issues driving Dodd Frank-related reform. In our most recent program we analyzed:

• The implementation of the Volcker Rule, including practical implications of the Federal Reserve’s recent conformance period guidance
• Developments in derivatives regulation
• Important new prudential requirements, including enhanced capital and other standards applicable to systemically significant institutions
• The Dodd-Frank Act’s impact on securitization
• The role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its recent activities
• Related extraterritorial, cross-border, and international issues arising in connection with these various requirements

In the UK we have recently hosted seminars on key regulatory issues including:

• The implementation and key aspects of MiFID II/MiFIR
• The introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime for Insurers and Reinsurers and branches of non-UK firms
• Guidance on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
• Regulatory trends at the FCA