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Market Solutions, Volume 32, No. 4

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The Legislative/Regulatory Actions column was written by lawyers from Morrison Foerster to update selected key legislative and regulatory developments affecting financial services and capital markets activities.

We are Morrison Foerster — a global firm of exceptional credentials. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Our lawyers are committed to achieving innovative and business-minded results for our clients, while preserving the differences that make us stronger.Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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The Legislative/Regulatory Actions column was written by lawyers from Morrison Foerster to update selected key legislative and regulatory developments affecting financial services and capital markets activities.Barbara R. Mendelson and Marc-Alain Galeazzi serve as Contributing Editors to the Financial Markets Association’s quarterly newsletter, <a href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt5dbd3c3349ad51e2/65ab0b44dbd0c36bfbad3c53/240119-market-solutions.pdf" target="_self">Market Solutions</a>.

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Marc-Alain’s practice focuses on advising and counseling domestic and foreign financial institutions on a variety of bank regulatory, Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and transactional matters. Marc-Alain has significant experience representing global financial institutions in criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions as well as addressing weaknesses and shortcomings in their BSA/AML compliance frameworks. He also advises clients on all AML-related issues in connection with ESG, M&A, strategic investments and private equity funds, embedded finance, blockchain and digital assets, and other corporate transactions. Marc-Alain is adept at assisting clients to build ground up BSA/AML policies and procedures, and he works closely with banks and fintechs to navigate BSA/AML considerations related to Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and other partnership arrangements.Further, Marc-Alain has significant experience in advising and counseling U.S. and international bank holding companies, banks, and other financial institutions on a variety of bank regulatory and transactional matters, including matters relating to:<ul><li>The Bank Holding Company Act</li><li>Regulation K and Y</li><li>The Bank Merger Act</li><li>The Dodd–Frank Act (with regard to the Volcker Rule, Living Wills, and Enhanced Prudential Standards, among others)</li><li>Applications to federal and state banking regulators for expansion of activities</li><li>Internal restructuring</li><li>New products, sales, and acquisitions of U.S. banks</li></ul>Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Marc-Alain was an associate with two prominent global United States law firms, and he practiced law in Switzerland for several years.Marc-Alain is a member of the board of the Swiss American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (SALA). He is fluent in German, English, French, and Spanish and has a basic knowledge of Italian. He is admitted to practice in New York and Switzerland.

Marc-Alain Galeazzi

Partner

Barbara Mendelson’s practice involves advising foreign and U.S. banks in a variety of complex regulatory matters, including sales and acquisitions of U.S. banking and nonbanking firms, Dodd-Frank Act issues, applications to federal and state bank regulators for expansion of activities and new products, Bank Secrecy Act and OFAC matters, and over-the-counter and exchange-based trading of various instruments and derivatives. She has represented foreign banks in their U.S. operations for more than 30 years. Barbara has also been instrumental in forming a number of commercial banks and other subsidiaries of foreign banks. In addition to her bank regulatory practice, Barbara works with sovereign entities and multilateral organizations with respect to the investment of their foreign currency reserves and other assets.Barbara has been recognized in the industry for her exceptional legal work, including being named by Crain’s New York Business as one of the <a href="https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/notable-women-law-2021" target="_blank" dir="ltr">Notable Women in Law</a> in both its 2021 and 2019 editions, and in 2020 she was named “Compliance Lawyer of the Year” by C5’s Women in Compliance Awards. She has also been selected as Euromoney Legal Media Group's <a href="http://www.mofo.com/resources/news/200917-mofo-recognized-euromoney-diversity.html">2020 Banking and Finance Attorney of the Year</a>, and was awarded “Best in Financial Services” in 2019 and 2017. Barbara was also awarded the "Lawyer of the Year" designation by Best Lawyers in America (2019 and 2013) in the category of Financial Services Regulation Law (New York City). In addition, she has been recommended by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500 US, IFLR1000, Best Lawyers in America, and Who’s Who Legal: Banking. In their 2023 guide, Who’s Who Legal listed Barbara as a “Thought Leader” in their Global Banking Regulation Review, which features the world’s foremost banking regulatory lawyers who have obtained the largest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel, and other market sources.She is a member of the New York City Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Barbara also serves as president of the board of trustees of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.

Barbara Mendelson

Nathanael Kurcab is a member of Morrison Foerster’s National Security Group and his practice focuses on economic sanctions and foreign direct investment issues. He advises clients on a range of international trade and national security issues, including the scope and implications of U.S. laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, as well as representing clients in matters before the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States. His practice includes advisory, diligence, internal investigations, compliance, and enforcement matters.Representative matters from both Morrison Foerster and his previous firm include:<ul><li>Representing a multinational financial institution in an internal investigation and resulting recent settlement with OFAC;</li><li>Advising a state-owned oil company on all aspects of U.S. sanctions compliance;</li><li>Assessing the policies and procedures of a major luxury goods provider; and</li><li>Investigating and disclosing to the government allegations of diversion to sanctioned parties received anonymously by a U.S. company in the metallurgical sector.</li></ul>Nathanael has also represented a range of nonprofits on a pro bono basis on regulatory compliance matters.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Nathanael was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of a prominent international law firm, where he focused on economic sanctions advising, complex commercial transactions, foreign direct investment reviews, and anti-money laundering compliance.  Previously, Nathanael served in the Intelligence Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and at the Afghanistan-Pakistan Task Force on behalf of the Office of Analysis of the Defense Intelligence Agency.Nathanael graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as executive director for Barrister’s Council and research assistant for Professor Peter Edelman. He was a member of the Georgetown Journal of International Law.Nathanael received his B.A. in Strategic Intelligence from Patrick Henry College.

Nathanael Kurcab

Of Counsel

Liv Chap is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s National Security group. Liv focuses her practice on U.S. sanctions and embargoes administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, including advisory, diligence, internal investigations, compliance, and enforcement matters.Liv received her J.D. with honors from The George Washington University Law School. During law school, she interned at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in the chambers of Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Her law school note, “Cost-of-Service Ratemaking and Labor Costs: Expanding the ‘Just and Reasonable’ Standard to Close the Gender Pay Gap in the Energy Industry,” was published in The George Washington Journal of Energy & Environmental Law in the winter 2021 issue.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Liv worked in the legal department of a global economic consulting firm. Liv received her B.A. magna cum laude in international relations and Slavic studies from Connecticut College.

Liv Chap

Associate

Jordan Hare is an associate in the Financial Services practice group in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on advising banks, bank holding companies, fintechs, and other financial services clients on a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters, including those involving money transmission, state and U.S. federal enforcement and examination, licensed lending, and the regulation of consumer financial services. She also has broad experience with anti-money laundering issues under the Bank Secrecy Act. Jordan maintains an active and varied pro bono practice, including her work for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and on immigration matters.Jordan graduated with honors from The George Washington University Law School, where she was an editor for The Guide to International Legal Research. She received her B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama.

Jordan Hare

Malka Levitin is an associate in the Financial Services Practice Group. Her practice focuses on advising banks, bank holding companies, fintechs, and other financial services clients on a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters, including those involving money transmission, the regulation of crypto-assets, and the Bank Holding Company Act. She also has extensive experience with anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism issues under the Bank Secrecy Act. Malka maintains an active and varied pro bono practice, and has handled multiple cases involving religious rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.Malka graduated from Columbia Law School, where she was a staff editor for the Journal of Transnational Law. She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Queens College. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Malka was an associate at another international law firm.

Malka Levitin

Rebecca Tesfaye is an associate in the Financial Services Group in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office. Rebecca’s practice focuses on advising banks, startups, and financial technology companies on a variety of state and federal regulatory matters and during product development. Rebecca has also represented numerous clients in enforcement actions filed by state and federal regulators.Rebecca graduated from Brooklyn Law School where she was a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society. She received her B.A. from Montclair State University in justice studies.