Morris, Manning & Martin’s Financial Institutions Practice represents financial institutions, ranging in size from small community banks to credit unions, to large multinational money centers, in locations across the Southeast, and is listed as a leading Banking & Finance practice by Chambers USA, a leading legal services ranking organization.

Key Services

• Reporting & Regulatory compliance
• Capital raising
• Strategic planning
• Mergers & acquisitions
• NPA resolution
• Loan workouts
• Corporate governance
• FDIC failed bank acquisitions
• Troubled bank resolutions
• Subchapter-S elections
• Going private transactions
• De Novo organization & formation
• Insurance transactions
• Distressed asset disposition

Our Financial Institutions attorneys focus on regulatory, corporate and securities matters for our financial institution clients. We have assisted our clients in all manner of banking transactions from De Novo bank formation to FDIC resolution.  We have assisted banks formulate and understand bidding models for the acquisition of failed financial institutions from the FDIC.  We have assisted our clients in strategic acquisitions as well as strategies for the disposition of distressed assets.  We have assisted our clients in developing their strategic plans, including successful capital raises.  We partner with our clients to raise capital, to restructure boards and shareholder bases, to go private or public, to make Subchapter-S elections, and to form holding companies.

We assist our clients in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, including both debt and equity, the full range of corporate transactions, ownership succession and estate planning issues, officer and director compensation packages and retirement planning, negotiating and restructuring stock loan programs, negotiating and defending regulatory administrative actions, and providing advice about all aspects of bank and thrift statutory law, regulation and interpretation. We also represent banking clients engaging in ancillary activities and acquisitions involving insurance, securities brokerage, swap agreements, and investment advisory services.

The firm regularly provides lending, work-out, bankruptcy, litigation, employment law, employee benefit, insurance, environmental, intellectual property, tax, technology and outsourcing, fiduciary law (including personal estate planning for bankers), real estate and REITs, white collar crime and similar legal specialty work for our financial institution clients.  Our complementary real estate, lending, creditors’ rights, and technology practice teams are often mentioned by clients as important difference-makers in our level of service.  We also provide a full service residential lending practice to assist our financial institution clients.

Representative Bank Regulatory/Financial Institutions Transactions:

• Led negotiations in the $1.1 Billion sale of a national bank.
• Successful capital raises for community banks in Georgia and Florida in 2010.
• Formed one of the final Georgia banks to obtain a charter.
• Represented a large regional bank in multiple affiliate merger transactions, as part of its program to consolidate its affiliate charters.
• Advised numerous financial institutions on FDIC bid and purchase opportunities. 
• Chair James C. Wheeler is a frequent speaker and commentator on financial institutions issues.
• Represented a major real estate developer in multiple transactions acquiring distressed assets from financial institutions.
• Represented multiple investor groups in investment transactions in financial institutions.
• Represented regional and local banks in SEC and Treasury reporting obligations after receiving  TARP CPP investments.
• Represented numerous financial institutions in negotiating and complying with their regulatory orders.
• Represented numerous financial institutions in raising capital, including public and private offerings.
• Represented numerous financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions transactions, including asset and stock transactions, whole bank, loan portfolios, branches, identified assets, control, and non-control sales and acquisitions.
• Represented numerous financial institutions in corporate restructuring, holding company, management and director matters, strategic planning, corporate governance, shareholder management, and regulatory issues.