Travis P. Nelson
Travis P. Nelson is a senior associate in the Financial Services and White Collar and Corporate Investigations Practice Groups of Pepper Hamilton LLP, resident in the Philadelphia and Washington offices.
Mr. Nelson serves financial institutions, and their directors and officers, in enforcement actions, internal investigations, crisis management, regulatory compliance, litigation, and transactional issues. He assists clients with matters before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal and state agencies.
The following matters are representative of Mr. Nelson’s practice:
- Failed Bank Litigation: Assisting in the representation of the creditors committee of Washington Mutual Inc. This representation involves extensive analysis of depository institution receivership laws, the interrelation of such laws with the federal Bankruptcy Code, and frequent interaction with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) staff.
- Bank Executive Enforcement Actions: Representation of a former senior executive of a major bank in defense of a federal regulatory enforcement action involving the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) related to the bank’s relationship with third-party payment processors. After a lengthy investigation and thorough review, the OCC cleared the executive of all threatened enforcement charges.
- Consumer Protection Enforcement Actions: Defense of several enforcement actions where the regulators alleged that the client banks engaged in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in conducting their credit card lending operations, including issues involving marketing, pricing, and other product attributes.
- New Products and Services: Representation of a major New York based bank in the launch of new services through an operating subsidiary. This representation has enabled the bank to explore novel and innovative ways to deliver banking products to consumer and institutional customers.
- Internal Investigations: On behalf of boards of directors/audit committees, conducted internal investigations of bank and savings and loan holding companies, and their subsidiary banks for alleged violations of the affiliate transactions rules, inappropriate booking of transactions, auditor intimidation, violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, insider misconduct and other issues.
- Bank Branching: Assisted a major national bank in achieving a favorable and precedent setting decision from the OCC on interstate bank branching.
- Legislative and Regulatory Relations: Representation of major financial services institutions and trade associations in providing comments on pending legislation and regulations on Capitol Hill and before the federal regulatory agencies on a variety of matters, including failed bank resolution proposals, consumer finance regulations, regulatory accounting treatment, among others.
- Change-in-Control Act Enforcement: Representation of private equity investors in defending against a bank regulatory enforcement actions related to the failure to file notices of change in control before acquiring a controlling interests in depository institutions or their holding companies.
- GSEs: Representation of a Federal Home Loan Bank on a variety of issues involving federal and state financial regulations.
- Bidding for Bank Assets: Representation of a hedge fund in the process of becoming a qualified bidder before the FDIC sponsored auction of assets of failed banks.
- Consumer Finance Litigation: Representation of several state and federally chartered banks in a variety of consumer financial services matters. These engagements involve defending matters such as gift card disclosures, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, state usury law and licensing restrictions, among others.
- Office of Foreign Assets Control: Successfully defended individuals investigated for alleged violations of the Iranian Transactions Regulations.
- Federal/State RICO Litigation: Represented business defendants in federal and state civil RICO litigation.
- Health Savings Accounts: Representation of a sub custodian on custody and fiduciary issues related to the operation of multiple health savings accounts.
Mr. Nelson has published the following:
- "Political Spending by Banks After Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission," ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (April 2010)
- “Reverse Mortgages: Increased Demand Draws Increased Scrutiny,” ABA Banking Law Meeting Materials (November 2009)
- "Current Issues in Financial Services," ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (November 2009)
- “Unauthorized Practice of Law: Lenders and Settlement Service Providers Beware!” The Real Estate Finance Journal (Spring 2009)
- “Handling Criminal and Regulatory Investigations of Mortgage Fraud and Identity Theft,” Privacy & Data Security Law Journal (January 2009)
- “Private Equity Investment in U.S. Financial Institutions,” Banking, Accounting & Finance (CCH Group) (January 2009)
- “The Expanding Criminalization of Transnational Bribery: Global Prosecution Necessitates Global Compliance,” ABA International Lawyer Journal (Spring 2009)
- “Criminal Investigations in the Subprime Meltdown: What to Do When the Feds Come Calling,” Banking New York Magazine (Winter 2009)
- “Trends and Strategies in CDO Litigation,” ABA Commercial & Business Litigation Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Fall 2008)
- "Criminal Investigations in the Subprime Meltdown: What to Do When the Feds Come Calling," Banking New York Magazine (Winter 2009)
- “State Fighting Feds In Flex of Banks’ Powers,” Banking New York (Spring 2008)
- “Trends in Subprime Lending: Legislation, Litigation, and Enforcement on the Rise,” ABA Business Law Today Magazine (July/August 2008)
- “Issues in Subprime Litigation: Removal Despite Lack of Federal Claims,” ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (July 2008)
- “Federal Appellate Court Overrules OCC on Auditor Liability,” ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (March 2008)
- “Emerging Issues in UDAP: Preemption,” ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (March 2008)
- “Subprime Litigation and Enforcement,” New Jersey Lawyer, Vol. 17, No. 5 (February 4, 2008)
- “Federal Authorities Launch Investigations into the Subprime Meltdown,” Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol. 61, No. 4. (Winter 2007)
- “State-Chartered Banks in the Post-Watters Environment,” ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (November 2007)
- “The Decline of the Subprime Mortgage Market,” Banking Solutions (September 2007)
- “The Current Subprime Mortgage Environment: Trends and Implications,” ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (July 2007)
- “The Subprime Mortgage Market,” Mercer Business (May 2007)
- “Mortgage Fraud at Financial Institutions: Prevention and Response,” ABA Banking Law Committee Journal (March 2007)
- “Failed Audit Lacked Skepticism, Independence,” American Banker (December 29, 2006)
- “Laundering Remains Top Agency Priority,” American Banker (November 17, 2006)
- “Identity Theft and Financial Institutions,” ABA Banking Law Committee Newsletter (September 2006)
- “Regulatory Trends: Looking Back, Ahead,” American Banker (May 26, 2006)
- “Section 10A and the Internal Investigations at Financial Institutions,” ABA Banking Law Committee Newsletter (April 2006)
- “Internal Investigations in the Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era,” ABA Banking Law Committee Newsletter (November 2005)
Mr. Nelson is managing editor of Pepper’s Financial Services Alert.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Nelson was an attorney at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department, where he handled both regulatory compliance and enforcement matters. During his tenure as a federal regulator, he counseled senior policymakers on a variety of regulatory compliance matters, including financial privacy, consumer lending, community reinvestment projects and other banking issues. As an OCC enforcement attorney, Mr. Nelson handled all stages of the enforcement litigation process, from the initial investigation through trial, in cases involving insider abuse, violation of substantive banking laws, safety and soundness issues, and liability of bank service providers (e.g., accountants and attorneys), including litigating a major enforcement action against a national accounting firm seeking civil money penalties and a cease and desist order based on reckless conduct. Prior to federal service, Mr. Nelson served in local and state prosecutors offices. Before joining Pepper in 2006, Mr. Nelson was an associate with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson, LLP, in Washington, DC.
From 2002-2006, Mr. Nelson served as adjunct faculty at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and in 2006 was appointed by Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich to the Maryland State Banking Board. Mr. Nelson also is president of the OCC Alumni Association. He is admitted to the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania bars, as well as various federal courts.
Education
B.S. 1998 Villanova University, School of Business
J.D. 2001 The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Bar Admissions
Admitted to practice in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia
