Covington represents a broad range of clients in the financial services industry, including depository institutions and their holding companies, securities firms, private equity firms, government-sponsored enterprises, investment banks, money service businesses, trust companies, mortgage companies, and major financial services trade associations. Our financial services lawyers also serve non-financial businesses -- such as technology companies, publishers, and retailers -- whose activities often subject them to some form of financial services regulation.
Covington lawyers provide advice on the full range of legal and regulatory issues that face financial services clients. This includes specialized regulatory advice on such matters as anti-money laundering, fair lending, privacy and data security, consumer compliance, electronic commerce, foreign trade controls, and the regulation of foreign banks. It also includes the broader range of litigation, enforcement, transactional, intellectual property, antitrust, trusts and estates, unclaimed and abandoned property, and bankruptcy matters. Our firm is well-recognized for forming multi-disciplinary teams of regulatory, transactional, and litigation attorneys, ensuring that the firm’s deep industry knowledge informs its engagements for financial services clients.
Representative Matters
- Ongoing representation of the former Sterling Financial Corporation (now a part of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.) in consolidated securities class action litigation, as well as inquiries by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney's Office, concerning a massive fraud at a Sterling subsidiary that resulted in the restatement of Sterling's financial statements.
- Representing Wachovia Bank, N.A. before the U.S. Supreme Court in Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. regarding federal preemption of Michigan State officials’ efforts to regulate mortgage subsidiary of Wachovia Bank.
- Conducting internal investigations for financial institutions regarding compliance with domestic and foreign anti-money laundering laws, and representing such institutions before the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Treasury and the federal bank regulators.
- Representing Freddie Mac in SEC and OFHEO government inquiries and civil litigation related to its $5 billion restatement of earnings, including negotiation and entry of $125 million civil money penalty and two consent orders with OFHEO; and the favorable comprehensive global settlement of all of the approximately 20 securities class action and derivative lawsuits following an important victory on a novel defense to plaintiffs’ class certification motion.
- Representing National City Corporation in connection with its proposed acquisition of Fidelity Bankshares, Inc.
- Representing both state-chartered and federally-chartered financial institutions in connection with a variety of charter conversions and expansions, including preparation of the required regulatory filings.
Accolades
- Listed as a Leading Firm in Financial Services Regulatory Enforcement and Investigations in Chambers USA.
- Three partners listed as Leading Individuals in Financial Services Regulatory Compliance and/or Regulatory Enforcement and Investigations in Chambers USA.
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