Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP

Co-Chair, Financial Services Practice

Co-Chair, Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Group

 

With nearly 30 years of legal experience, Carl Fornaris advises a broad range of financial services firms, including banks and their holding companies, trust companies, money services businesses, payments and FinTech companies, cryptocurrency and other digital assets firms, investment advisers, securities broker dealers, gaming firms, and other financial institutions and institution-affiliated parties, including financial institution officers and directors, on all aspects of their business.

 

Carl represents clients in an extensive range of regulatory, transactional, and administrative enforcement matters, including institution formation and licensing, capital-raising transactions, acquisitions and divestitures, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance and The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions programs—including the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)—cryptocurrency regulation, payments and FinTech, Dodd-Frank Act compliance, failed bank receivership and resolution advice, and federal and state agency enforcement proceedings. 

 

Carl has counseled clients in their dealings with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Florida Office of Financial Regulation (FOFR), New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and other state supervisory authorities.

 

In addition, Carl represents lenders and credit parties in financing transactions, particularly credits to non-U.S. loan parties, asset-based credits, acquisition financing, and stand-by letters of credit.

 

Previously, Carl served as head of legal and compliance for the Latin America region of Barclays Bank PLC, with responsibility for managing legal and compliance matters throughout the region.