Frank A. Mayer, III, is a partner in the Financial Services Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton LLP, resident in the Philadelphia office. Mr. Mayer focuses his practice on counseling regulated business enterprises including tax-exempt organizations, with a special emphasis on financial institutions.
Mr. Mayer's practice is in the areas of bank regulations, international banking, bank insolvency, receiverships and related business disputes, public finance and corporate finance. His clients represent an array of industries, including financial institutions, health care, real estate, telecommunications, sports, utilities and energy. Mr. Mayer also counsels business enterprises with respect to their relationships with federal, state and local governments.
Mr. Mayer’s representative engagements include:
Financial Services
- representing money center financial institutions, super regional banks, community banks and financial companies in connection with:
- counseling regulatory: regulatory applications; Reg Y, Section 23A and 23B; Reg DD, Truth in Savings Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act; de novo, trust powers, financial holding companies, banking holding companies, Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, cash management, depository products, escheat, OCC, FDIC, federal reserve issues including enforcement and supervision; merger and acquisition, audit committee and governance issues; distressed debt and ORE issues; UCC Article 3 and Article 4 controversies
- international: trade finance, global supply chain finance, structured finance and letter of credit controversies
- public and government finance: credit enhancement, direct pay letters of credit, deposit insurance and credit insurance products including representing financial institutions in connection with transactions
- serving as lead counsel to the receiver for the largest pre-Madoff SEC receivership in connection with a $4 billion Ponzi scheme with more than 100 financial institution victims, which has returned to date in excess of 90 percent of approved claims
- conceiving and developing the theories of the case resulting in the federal jury handing up a verdict in excess of $32 million against a broker dealer and other financial institutions, finding them complicit and conspirators in a Ponzi scheme which damaged more than 100 financial institution victims.
Mr. Mayer began his career in private practice, and later was a partner with several Philadelphia law firms. In 1991, he joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), where he was a senior attorney and acted as senior counsel for the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). His FDIC and RTC assignments included acting as a bank closing attorney, as general counsel to bank conservatorships and receiverships, the litigation of complex multi-state financial institution-related civil actions, and service on the National Bank Fraud Working Group. After six years with the FDIC, he then became a consultant with the AXA Group, counseling the company on federal and state legislation of interest to financial institutions, insurance companies and investment banking firms.
Mr. Mayer joined then-Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell’s staff and was corporate chair of the Philadelphia Law Department, where he supervised 20 deputies and a team of 225 attorneys and staff in the Commercial, Health and Human Services, Tax and Regulatory Affairs Units. Mr. Mayer then served on Mayor Rendell's gubernatorial campaign as co-chair of its Tax Policy Committee and as a member of its Finance Committee. He chaired Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter's transition team for the Office of the Finance Director, and helped lead the transition team with respect to Philadelphia’s Law Department.
Mr. Mayer serves on the Philadelphia Revenue Commissioner’s advisory board, as well as the boards of the Vidocq Society, the Delaware River City Corporation and Lorman Education Services, for which he participates in the approval of the granting of the Certificate of Banking Compliance.
Mr. Mayer was selected for inclusion on the 2004-10 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers lists.
Mr. Mayer is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the United States Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Tax Court.
