- Advised numerous bank acquirers and sellers on regulatory approvals for bank M&A transactions, noncontrolling investments, nonbank activities, and divestitures, including for protested applications, resolution of antitrust concerns, securities disclosures, and other complex issues.
- Advised numerous banks of all sizes on regulatory change matters, affiliate transactions, deposit products, trust and wealth management activities, state law preemption, payment system matters, BSA/AML compliance, lending limits, financial privacy and data breach issues, cannabis issues, securities disclosures, and representation in examinations, applications, and enforcement matters before the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, CFPB, and state regulators.
- Counsel to nonbank lending, payments, technology, and industrial firms regarding bank charter options, including the OCC’s FinTech charter, industrial loan companies, and the Georgia Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank Act.
- Advised foreign banks and fintech firms with U.S. market entry and compliance with U.S. bank regulation.
- Drafted policies and procedures for banking institutions regarding asset-liability management, capital, liquidity, interest rate risk, investments, enterprise risk, intercompany transactions, new product designs, nonbanking activity approvals, deposits and lending, trust department matters, Community Reinvestment Act, public welfare investments, compliance management systems, and consumer compliance issues.
- Provided strategic advice and training on regulatory concerns to public and private company boards of directors.
- Regulatory counsel for numerous troubled or failed banks and to counterparties of those institutions.
- Advised banking institutions on implementation of compliance programs for the Volcker Rule, resolution of supervisory concerns, and compliance for complex funds structures.
- Advised private equity firms, fintech lenders, payments firms, e-commerce platforms, digital asset and cryptocurrency firms, business process outsourcing firms, retailers, and others in the assessment of money transmitter licensing and FinCEN compliance concerns, including obtaining required approvals nationwide, establishing licensing programs, M&A approvals, and enforcement matters.
- Advised bank and nonbank firms on financial regulatory aspects of new product development, including bank partnership models, BaaS relationships, and fintech lending platforms.
- Advised multiple major big box retailers, e-commerce platforms, and other merchants on compliance with AML compliance programs, financial privacy compliance, and third-party risk management oversight by banking institutions.
Partner,
- Phone: +1 404 881 7833
- Email: cliff.stanford@alston.com
Cliff is widely known in the bank regulatory space across multiple industry verticals and for advising clients ranging from banking institutions to payments, fintech, and other nonbank firms. In addition to his experience in private practice since 2011, Cliff's tenure with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is a boon for clients looking for an industry insider to represent them.
- Assisting national trade associations in drafting regulatory comment letters.
- Regulatory counsel to Fifth Third Bank in its acquisitions of Provide, a fintech company serving health care practices nationally, Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC (H2C), a premier strategic advisory and investment banking firm focused on the health care industry, and Franklin Street Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, and Franklin Street Trust Company, a North Carolina trust company.
- Advised a $100 million fintech-focused venture capital fund focused on permissible investments and activities of its community bank investors.
- Advised an investor group on a $50 million investment in a failing community bank and its strategic transformation.
- Counsel to Truist Financial Corporation in the divestiture of its 401(k) recordkeeping and related investment advisory business and in numerous non-controlling investments.
- Advised a large regional bank in its negotiations with a cloud-based core banking system provider for an outsourced banking platform.
- Special regulatory advisor to minority-owned banks in their capital raising from large financial institutions in 2020 and 2021.
- Counsel to a banking trade group and 40 members on a benchmarking exercise to assess the implications of revised HMDA reporting.
- Represented Equifax in its 2018 consent order with state banking regulators in response to their multistate review of the company’s information technology and security controls.
- Regulatory counsel to Hancock Whitney Bank in its acquisition of the institutional and high-net-worth trust and investment advisory business of Capital One Financial.
- Regulatory counsel for Synovus Bank’s acquisition of the Cabela’s credit card bank and subsequent sale of its $5 billion card portfolio to Capital One Bank (USA).
- Advised Synovus Bank on its conversion to a Federal Reserve member bank.
- Regulatory counsel to BancorpSouth Bank on the elimination of its holding company.
- Counsel to a $1.2 billion private company in the sale of its federal savings bank and deregistration as a savings and loan holding company.
- Regulatory counsel to Seacoast National Bank on numerous M&A transactions.
- Regulatory counsel to FLEETCOR in its acquisition of Cambridge Global Payments, a Canadian B2B cross-border payments firm.
- Represented a $3 billion insurance company before the Federal Reserve Board in the divestiture of a controlling stake in a banking institution.
- Advised a top-100 holding company on implementation of a comprehensive program to meet heightened regulatory expectations for enterprise risk management.
- Assisted a top-five bank in restructuring an international liquidity facility to ensure compliance with the Volcker Rule.
- Advising a top-50 bank on the U.S. Treasury’s Direct Express prepaid card program.
As co-leader of Alston & Bird’s Financial Services Group, Cliff Stanford provides expert advice and strategic counsel on regulatory concerns as they impact U.S. and foreign banks, fintech, payments, and other nonbank firms, as well as their boards of directors, investors, counterparties, and service providers.
During his 15-year tenure at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Cliff was assistant general counsel, founding director of the Retail Payments Risk Forum, and led the applications and enforcement groups. Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America© recognize Cliff in Banking and Finance. Cliff regularly contributes to industry publications and conferences, and is frequently quoted in publications including American Banker, Law360, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Bloomberg Law, and Bank Director.
Bar Admissions
- Georgia
Education
- Georgia State University (J.D., 1995)
- Emory University (B.A., 1992)
Memberships
- State Bar of Georgia
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, board member
VIDEOS | MAY 23, 2018
Surveying the Evolving Landscape of Financial Services Regulation
Cliff Stanford, partner and leader of the Bank Regulatory Team, describes some of the macro trends in the current financial services regulatory climate.
VIDEOS | AUGUST 10, 2015
Cliff Stanford Discusses the Five-Year Anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act
Cliff Stanford, practice leader for Alston & Bird's Bank Regulatory Team, discusses the five-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act.