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Brenna Sheffield

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Brenna works with public and private companies on a wide range of corporate matters including equity and debt offerings, SEC reporting, corporate governance and financial services regulatory matters.

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The federal banking agencies have finalized a significant recalibration of the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework. In a joint final rule, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) have lowered the CBLR requirement from 9% to 8% and lengthened the grace period for certain temporary breaches of the CBLR criteria. The rule becomes effective July 1, 2026, and is intended to deliver more meaningful regulatory relief while preserving supervisory comfort with capital adequacy and safety and soundness.

ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper Locke advised DMMS Purchaser, Inc. on the completion of the merger with MC Bancshares, Inc., the holding company for M C Bank & Trust Company (collectively, MCBANK), a Louisiana-chartered state bank. The firm also advised DMMS Purchaser in securing more than $225 million through what is likely one of the largest-ever friends-and-family capital raises for a bank. For more information, see the company’s press release.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Troutman Pepper Locke advised Piper Sandler & Co., a leading investment bank, as sole placement agent in Univest Financial Corporation’s $50 million private placement of fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes. For more information, see the press release.

On March 17, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it has granted conditional approval for SmartBiz Loans to transform the business model of CenTrust Bank, N.A., located in Northbrook, Illinois. This approval follows SmartBiz Loans’ acquisition of CenTrust Bank, N.A., which has since been renamed SmartBiz Bank, N.A. The approval allows SmartBiz Bank, N.A. to expand its small business lending activities on a nationwide scale.

Today, both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized new guidelines regarding bank mergers. According to the agencies, these updates aim to enhance transparency and provide clearer guidance on the evaluation of merger applications under the Bank Merger Act (BMA).

As discussed here, on October 24, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finally issued their long-awaited final rule modernizing how they assess lenders’ compliance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA regulations had not been updated since 1995.

On October 24, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the agencies) finally issued their long-awaited final rule modernizing how they assess lenders’ compliance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA was enacted in 1977 to address systemic inequities in access to credit and encourages banks to meet the credit needs of the entire community, including low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities, consistent with safety and soundness principles. The last meaningful, comprehensive revision to the CRA regulations occurred in 1995.