The Winne Banta Financial Services Practice Group provides highly specialized counseling and legal representation to the financial services industry in matters including governmental relations, business and litigation, and regulatory compliance matters. The Group is nationally recognized as leading counsel to the financial service centers industry, including institutions providing check cashing services, deferred presentment lending and related non-bank financial services.
Through senior attorney Gerald Goldman’s representation, the Financial Services Practice Group is proud to serve as counsel to Financial Service Centers of America (“FiSCA”), the national trade association of non-bank community-based financial service providers. FiSCA includes nearly 7,000 member locations across the United States offering services such as check cashing, funds transfers, monetary instrument sales and bill payments. Mr. Goldman was instrumental in organizing the industry’s trade association over 20 years ago. As counsel to FiSCA, the Group’s attorneys handle regulatory and policy matters on behalf of the industry, including representation in Washington, D.C. and before state legislative bodies. We also represent the industry as a member of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG), which is an advisory body that provides guidance on national anti-money laundering and terrorist financing enforcement.
Under the leadership of Gerald Goldman, the Group also serves as counsel to Financial Service Centers of New York (FSCNY) and New Jersey Financial Service Centers (NJFSC), the state associations of financial service centers. As counsel to these groups, we provide consulting and handle industry legislative and regulatory issues before the legislatures of New York and New Jersey.
The Group is also well versed in representing financial service providers in virtually all areas of operations including real estate/leasing transactions, business acquisitions, employment matters, and preparation of vendor and service agreements. We represent some of the most prominent and successful financial services providers in the north east.
The Group has also developed a specialty in industry litigation matters, including negotiable instruments and Uniform Commerical Code (U.C.C.) related actions. We regularly represent check cashers and money services businesses in check fraud, forged endorsement, counterfeit instrument and related U.C.C. litigation matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. The Group has successfully defended and prosecuted significant litigation matters in this area on behalf of our financial services clients.
The Group is also highly specialized in BSA/AML compliance for money services businesses, including check cashers and money transmitters -- and banks and credit unions serving the MSB industry. The Group has developed compliance and training programs for some of the largest non-bank financial services providers in the U.S., including an Internet-based program that has trained over 50,000 industry employees nationally.
The Group provides the following specialized BSA/AML services:
The Financial Services Practice Group also represents individual business clients in federal and state regulatory compliance matters, including licensing and related issues before state and federal regulatory agencies. The Group regularly represents individual licensees in enforcement actions and applications before the New York Banking Department and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
The Financial Services Practice Group includes: