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Financial Institutions

Preeminent in its field, our Financial Institutions Practice advises a broad range of financial institutions, private investors and government agencies on transactional and regulatory matters. 

Our clients span the entire spectrum of financial services, including commercial and investment national and regional banks, insurance companies, securities and mortgage brokers, specialty finance companies, including credit card issuers and retailers and consumer finance companies, as well as investors in these companies and their boards of directors. We also advise a broad range of public and private asset management groups. In addition to counseling traditional financial institutions, the Firm advises numerous FinTech companies across all verticals.

Our Financial Institutions Practice has advised on many of the largest and most complex financial services transactions in U.S. history, including:

  • U.S. Treasury in developing and implementing its $250 billion TARP program for investments in banks
  • JPMorgan Chase’s $58 billion merger with Bank One
  • Mellon Financial’s $16.8 billion merger with Bank of New York
  • Travelers’ in its $16 billion merger with St. Paul Companies
  • Manulife’s $11 billion acquisition of John Hancock
During the financial crisis and its aftermath, we were at the forefront of advising clients on innovative strategies for recapitalizations and restructurings, as well as purchases of failed banks from the FDIC by banks and private investor clients.

We also regularly represent clients on important and innovative capital raising transactions and regulatory matters ranging from compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act and its implementing regulations to chartering new institutions and obtaining regulatory approvals for expanded banking powers. Not only do we have regulatory strength in our practice, we also have a deep bench of litigators who work with our financial institutions clients on a wide range of litigation matters.

Clients appreciate our unique insight into issues relating to the financial services industry, gained through our extensive deal experience and deep knowledge of the complex and changing regulatory framework. Most of the lawyers in our financial institutions practice have broad experience in both regulatory and transactional matters, giving them an invaluable perspective to address our clients’ needs with practical and creative solutions.

“A well-established transactional offering with the ability to operate effectively across all facets of deals involving financial institutions. ... Offers a robust grounding in the regulatory directives of every core agency in the space.”
Chambers USA 2025,
Financial Services Regulation: Financial Institutions M&A

Featured Clients and Matters

Blackstone-led consortium’s $20 billion acquisition of a majority interest in Refinitiv and Refinitiv’s $27 billion acquisition by London Stock Exchange
TD Bank’s $26 billion sale of its affiliate TD Ameritrade to Schwab, $1.3 billion acquisition of Cowen, sale of Cowen’s legacy prime brokerage and outsourced trading business to Marex Group and $14.4 billion sale of all of its shares in Charles Schwab
Stone Point Capital, together with funds managed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, in the purchase of Truist Bank’s insurance brokerage business, with an enterprise value of $15.5 billion and earlier $1.95 billion acquisition of 20% of Truist Bank’s insurance brokerage business, as well as in Focus Financial Partners’ acquisition by entities affiliated with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Stone Point Capital, with an enterprise value of more than $7 billion
People’s United in its $7.6 billion merger with M&T Bank and in numerous bank acquisitions, including United Financial Bancorp ($759 million), First Connecticut Bancorp ($544 million), BSB Bancorp ($327 million) and Suffolk Bancorp ($402 million)
U.S. Bancorp in its $8 billion acquisition of MUFG Union Bank
TIH Insurance in the $7.75 billion sale of its McGriff Insurance Services business to an affiliate of Marsh & McLennan Companies
KKR in two separate transactions to acquire 100% ownership of Global Atlantic Financial Group for a total of $7.4 billion and in its pending $3.1 billion acquisition of OSTTRA
New York Community Bancorp in its $5 billion sale of warehouse loans to JPMorgan Chase Bank
Wells Fargo in its pending $4.4 billion sale of its rail equipment leasing business assets to a joint venture between GATX Corporation and Brookfield Infrastructure
IBERIABANK’s $3.9 billion merger of equals with First Horizon, and its acquisitions of Sabadell United Bank and Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Company
Veritex in its $1.9 billion pending sale to Huntington Bancshares
M&T Bank in securing a denial of class certification in a proposed investor class action related to the $3.7 billion merger between M&T Bank and Hudson City Bancorp
Countrywide Home Loans’ landmark appellate reversal in an RMBS case
TD Bank in defeating class certification in an action arising out of the Stanford Ponzi scheme
Other transactions have included TransUnion’s initial public offering, as well as the IPOs of asset management firms including Blackstone, Bridgepoint, Carlyle, KKR, Oaktree and others.
Band 1 or 2
Band 1 or 2 ranking in Financial Services Regulation: Financial Institutions M&A (Chambers USA 2009-2025)

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        Spotlight on
        Simpson Thacher to Add Five-Partner Team to Expand Financial Institutions Group
        Spotlight on
        Amanda Allexon to Testify at House Financial Services Committee Hearing on Bank Mergers
        Spotlight on
        OCC Proposes Changes to Bank Merger Review Process
        Spotlight on
        Simpson Thacher Wins “Financial Services Law Firm of the Year” and “Financial Services Deal of the Year” at The Deal Awards 2021