Luse Gorman has extensive experience in securing and converting bank charters.
We guide mutual and stock bank boards of directors and management through the charter conversion process, providing advice on both the regulatory application process and implementing effective strategies for obtaining the necessary regulatory and other approvals. Our representation involves reviewing with boards the advantages and disadvantages of the charter alternatives available to them.
De novo, or newly chartered, banks have been a key part of the financial services landscape in the United States. De novo banks have offered communities with competitive and enthusiastic alternatives to larger banks. While the FDIC has recently relaxed some of its more restrictive regulations pertaining to de novo banks, the challenge for most de novo bank applicants today continues to be whether they can generate adequate returns for stockholders in view of the higher federal bank regulatory capital requirements. We guide our de novo bank clients through all aspects of the regulatory process involved in obtaining a de novo bank charter, including advising clients on the various regulatory requirements for obtaining a de novo charter, advising on charter choices and corporate structure, reviewing the client’s business plan, explaining banking regulations, preparing corporate governance policies and procedures, raising capital (either publicly or privately), and executive compensation and employee benefits matters. Attorneys in Luse Gorman have completed a number of national and state bank de novo charters, and we are optimistic that de novo charters will continue to have an important role in community banking in the United States.