Brad Rustin chairs the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice. His career began as a litigator focusing on consumer financial services litigation and defense of regulatory claims against chartered and non-chartered financial institutions, finance entities, and money services business. Following in the wake of the fiscal crisis, he began working with financial institutions, state-licensed lenders, money transmitters, non-traditional lenders, check cashers, and mortgage brokers on issues of regulatory compliance. As the regulatory environment facing financial institutions has changed and increased in complexity, he now spends most of his time counseling financial institutions in regulatory matters, including strategic agreements, product development, and operational compliance. Mr. Rustin is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) by ACAMS and a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) by the American Bankers Association.
A large portion of Mr. Rustin’s work focuses upon bank and non-bank partnerships involving white-label deployments, FinTech partnerships, or payments and lending partnerships. The firm utilizes a multi-team approach, leveraging our corporate and securities, financial services, intellectual property, regulatory & compliance, and tax teams to develop an integrated, wrap-around solution for financial services companies exploring innovative products, relationships, and structures. This whole-client approaches brings together attorneys with unique experience and talents to assist clients in navigating an increasingly complex world of deal structures, fundraising, transactions, technology, and financial regulations.
Mr. Rustin works with a number of industry organizations focusing on financial institutions and regularly speaks on topics involving regulatory compliance for chartered and non-chartered financial institutions, FinTechs, and traditional lenders and payment providers. His speaking engagements have, in particular, focused on changing federal regulation of the money transmission and lending spaces in the post-Dodd Frank environment.
The Nelson Mullins Financial Regulatory and FinTech team prides itself on the ability to service the complete lifecycle of a financial product. The team works with early-stage startups through mature, multi-national clients. This experience spans not only advice on discrete compliance issues but entails a broader platform to assist with product design, growth strategies, and transformation. The team works with established companies on complex regulatory structures and compliance violation response and remediation programs. This work can include wholesale risk assessments and the development or redesign of integrated compliance management systems (CMS).
Mr. Rustin regularly works with:
- Alternative underwriting platforms or lenders using innovative data sources
- Banks, credit unions, and depository institutions (including those focusing on bank-partnership programs)
- Credit card issuers and card program managers (including white-label and co-brand programs)
- Financial services companies addressing accessibility and ADA compliance
- FinTechs providing payments and loan products directly or indirectly through partnership models
- International payment processing, remittance transfers, and transnational crypto-asset transfers
- nvestors, private equity groups, and venture capital groups placing funds with financial services companies and FinTechs
- ISO, lead generation, merchant acquiring, and card processing
- Marketplace lenders and financial institution partners
- Mobile wallet providers and mobile payment facilitators
- Prepaid card programs (including stored value, open loop, and general purpose reloadable)
- Providers of privacy, data security, and data breach remediation services
- Regulatory technology providers including those focusing on customer due diligence, BSA/AML, OFAC, and enhanced due diligence
- Retail installment sales, online sales, and
- Robo-advisors and single-platform deposit, payment, advisory, and broker-dealer services
- State-licensed lenders including installment lenders, payday lenders, and title lenders
- State-licensed money transmitters, check cashers, and crypto-asset exchangers/transmitters
Mr. Rustin and the FinReg/FinTech team regularly advises on issues relating to:
- ACH, card network, and payment systems compliance
- ADA compliance and promotion of inclusive financial products
- Alternative chartering including industrial loan companies, FinTech charters, and traditional chartering
- Bank-model partnerships, strategic partnerships, and third- party relationships for bank and non-bank entities
- BSA/AML/OFAC compliance, including issues relating to customer identification and due diligence
- Card regulations including credit disclosures, prepaid regulations, state licensure, and escheatment
- CFPB civil investigative demands or other regulatory inquiries
- Credit union regulations and issues unique to this charter class
- Cybersecurity, state privacy, and federal privacy regulations
- Deposit brokering and deposit network issues
- Due diligence for investors in financial services companies
- Electronic platform development, including ESIGN, UETA, and online contracting/disclosure
- Federal regulations relating to lending, payments, and deposit taking
- FinCEN, money-transmitter, and money services business regulations
- Licensures and registration with federal and state regulators
- Response and remediation programs for state or federal regulatory investigations
- Rate and feature exportation for financial institutions or financial services companies providing a multi-state platform
- Risk assessments, compliance prioritization, and examination preparation
- State laws and regulations applicable to lenders and money services businesses