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James Stevens

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James is the co-leader of the firm’s Financial Services Industry Group. He has significant experience working with clients across the entire financial services sector, regularly working with public and private companies such as banks, neobanks, marketplace lenders, and other fintech and financial services providers and partners.

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Yesterday, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement highlighting potential risks associated with banks’ arrangements with third parties to deliver bank deposit products and services. While the information is not new, it clearly memorializes the issues that have been at the forefront of recent enforcement actions involving banks operating under a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) model.

On June 28, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a proposed rule aimed at strengthening and modernizing financial institutions’ anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs. The Treasury’s priority is to promote a more effective risk-based regulatory regime that directs financial institutions to focus their AML/CFT programs on the highest priority threats.

On June 24, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced it is requesting comments on proposed amendments to its recovery planning guidelines. A recovery plan’s purpose is to provide a covered bank with a framework to effectively and efficiently address the financial effects of severe stress events and avoid failure or resolution. Among other things, the proposed amendments aim to expand the guidelines to apply to banks with average total consolidated assets between $100 billion and $250 billion. The proposal also seeks to incorporate a testing standard and clarify the role of non-financial risks in recovery planning.

Troutman Pepper partner James Stevens spoke at the annual Georgia Bankers Association meeting alongside Jonathan Hightower, a partner at Fenimore Kay Harrison. Their discussion focused on how, after a challenging year in 2023, many banks are seeking opportunities to regain forward momentum. During the session, James and Jonathan explored various growth opportunities for banks, including the resurgence of community bank mergers and acquisitions, strategies for nontraditional deposit growth, compensation and retention tactics, and leadership succession planning. Additionally, they addressed ways to mitigate emerging risks amidst heightened expectations from regulators and other stakeholders.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has recently issued a final rule amending its regulations governing the use of official FDIC signs and insured depository institutions’ (IDIs) advertising statements. The new rule took effect on April 1, 2024, with an extended compliance date of January 1, 2025. The extended compliance date is intended to provide sufficient time for financial institutions to put in place processes, systems, and technological updates to implement the new regulatory requirements.