Overview
Locke Lord’s attorneys represent global financial institutions in various traditional and non-traditional transactions. We provide strategic legal advice on sensitive regulatory issues that are peculiar to global financial institutions. Our attorneys advise on foreign commercial lending and banking transactions, including acquisitions, affiliate transactions, syndicated loans, loans supported by foreign collateral and letter of credit arrangements. We also are skilled in representing foreign banks in legislative, regulatory and litigation-related matters. Our goal is to provide exceptional legal services, to be responsive to our clients’ needs and to efficiently manage the cost of our services for all clients.
In the midst of today’s complex regulatory environment, we provide many essential services, including providing advice on the various provisions of Federal and State laws regarding licensing of international bank branches and agency offices, registration and approval of acquisition of domestic institutions under the Banking Holding Company Act of 1956.
We provide regulatory counsel to international financial services companies, particularly relating to their activities in Mexico and South America. We have developed extensive knowledge regarding Mexican financial institutions and loans involving Mexican assets and borrowers. We represent a number of foreign banks in compliance matters under U.S. federal and state banking laws.
Our attorneys represent foreign clients in multi-state and cross-border transactions. Our commercial lending attorneys are experienced with many types of collateral, including collateral with specific perfection requirements, from aircraft, locomotives and ships to proceeds of litigation and various types of intellectual property. We know how to deal with the hidden risks of lending to borrowers whose collateral may be subject to “shadow” liens, such as “hot goods,” PACA and PASA. Our experience with loan documentation and our understanding of commercial transactions, especially in the middle-market, is a valuable supplement to a lender’s own due diligence. We are experienced with syndications, participation agreements, subordination agreements and intercreditor agreements. We can protect lenders against the claims of the IRS and other tax authorities, employees, processors, warehousemen, landlords, consignors and other third party claimants who might otherwise obtain superior rights in a lender’s collateral.