Profile
Benjamin Saul is a shareholder in the firm’s Financial Regulatory and Compliance Practice. For two decades, Ben has been a trusted advisor to banks, FinTechs, consumer and commercial lenders, payments companies, officers and directors and investors on high-stakes regulatory, enforcement, litigation and transactional matters.
Since the CFPB’s 2011 inception, Ben has helped clients navigate dozens of contentious supervisory, enforcement, and litigation matters involving the Bureau. He also assists clients regularly in matters involving the FTC, DOJ, HUD, OCC, FRB, FDIC, state financial services authorities, state attorneys general, and state civil rights commissions. Ben’s enforcement matters have concerned anti-discrimination and fair lending (including algorithmic bias), unfair deceptive or abusive trade practices, other federal and state consumer finance laws, payments and card network issues, AML/BSA, troubled or failed banks, fiduciary duties, financial institution fraud, leveraged lending, supervisory ratings, and other safety and soundness issues. These matters often have involved parallel proceedings by multiple enforcement agencies and private parties.
Ben’s regulatory practice includes advising lenders, servicers, money services businesses, various FinTech platforms and program managers, digital banks, SaaS companies, e-commerce companies and retailers, e-sports companies, personal finance companies, and crypto and digital asset companies on cutting-edge financial product and service development, licensing and chartering, structuring and negotiating joint venture, outsourcing and bank partnership agreements, compliance program enhancement, and the applicability of federal and state financial services laws. Such matters frequently involve new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
Ben also advises private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds, and strategic investors on risk identification and mitigation and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals for financial services and FinTech mergers and acquisitions and other investments. He likewise provides financial services regulatory advice to issuers and underwriters of public and private securities offerings.
Concentrations
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Government investigations
- Federal and state regulation of credit, payments and other financial services
- Anti-discrimination, fair lending, fair servicing, and responsible banking
- FinTech – credit, other financing, payments, crypto/digital assets
- Consumer finance – mortgage, cards, student, auto, small dollar, BNPL
- Troubled Banks
- Defense of consumer finance litigation claims
Capabilities
Experience
- Representation as lead counsel of numerous financial institutions, other consumer finance companies, and individuals in 30 CFPB investigations and enforcement matters concerning marketing, disclosures, fees, lending, collections, consumer bankruptcy, credit reporting, recordation and loan servicing practices across numerous products and services, including mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, student loans, manufactured home loans, personal loans, small dollar loans, commercial loans and payment services.
- Representation of several financial institutions and other consumer finance companies in product reviews, mock examinations, and other readiness guidance in advance of CFPB exams.°
- Representation of several financial institutions and consumer finance companies in responding to supervisory exam and pre-enforcement issues, including responding to Potential Supervisory Action and Proposed Action Response Request Letters.
- Representation of several financial institutions in connection with efforts to comply with CFPB Consent Orders.°
- Representation of numerous financial institutions and other financial services companies before the federal banking regulators, CFPB, DOJ, HUD, and state enforcement agencies in over 40 fair lending and servicing examinations, investigations, and lawsuits involving allegations of, among other things, algorithmic bias, redlining, reverse redlining, discouragement, discriminatory marketing, underwriting, pricing, servicing and property maintenance by lenders and servicers (both consumer and commercial).
- Representation of multiple non-bank lenders in a nationwide class action lawsuit brought by the NAACP against 18 bank and non-bank lenders in an action alleging “reverse redlining” violations of the Fair Housing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Civil Rights Act.°
- Representation of financial institutions, FinTech, and other non-bank lenders and services on all aspects of fair lending and servicing compliance, including developing policies and programs, managing oversight of third-party vendors, conducting risk assessments, preparing for exams, and developing periodic statistical testing programs.
- Representation of an individual indicted for one count of wire fraud in a matter brought by the DOJ.
- Representation of a large merchant cash advance company in connection with an FTC investigation.
- Representation of a foreign bank in connection with an AML/BSA investigation by the NYDFS and FRB.°
- Representation of a large, global bank in the resolution of parallel grand jury and OCC investigations, as well as a nationwide class action and a state-level mass action in a matter involving allegations of mortgage fraud and predatory lending.°
- Representation of a bank in a joint DOJ and FDIC investigation and enforcement action into that bank’s compliance with the Servicemember Civil Relief Act.°
- Representation of a bank in connection with the negotiation of a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ involving a one count information alleging failure to file suspicious activity reports in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.°
- Representation of a bank in connection with an appeal of its CAMELS rating to the FDIC’s Supervision Appeals Review Committee (SARC).°
- Representation of a large, national bank in connection with multi-year effort to comply with landmark, post-credit crisis horizontal consent orders issued by the OCC and the FRB concerning default mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices.°
- Representation of a former bank director in an investigation and litigation brought by the FDIC following the failure of the bank.°
- Representation of multiple Chapter 7 Trustees of failed bank holding companies, including IndyMac Bancorp in (1) the investigation of the financial affairs and failure of the debtors, (2) the defense of the debtors in government enforcement matters involving the FDIC, DOJ, and SEC, (3) litigation against the FDIC concerning the ownership of certain tax refunds and other assets, and (4) the prosecution of claims against certain insiders and third parties.°
- Representation of a major non-bank mortgage servicer and its parent investment bank in connection with a landmark FTC action concerning certain servicing, debt collection and credit reporting practices.°
- Representation of a consumer goods company in connection with an FTC investigation alleging the company improperly claimed its products were “Made in the USA.” °
- Representation of numerous FinTech companies on product and service development, regulatory compliance, licensing (lending, servicing, loan brokering, and money transmission), negotiation of bank partnerships, joint ventures and outsourcing arrangements, compliance program development, and dealings with federal and state regulators.
- Representation of a major e-commerce platform on financial services regulatory matters.
- Representation of a national bank in connection with the development of a suite of digital products for merchants and consumers.
- Representation of multiple FinTechs in negotiating credit facilities.
- Representation of numerous venture capital, private equity and hedge funds in connection with regulatory due diligence of potential FinTech acquisitions and investments and with obtaining necessary regulatory approvals.
- Representation of a large, global financial institution on enhancing its mobile product offerings, including streamlining required disclosures.°
- Representation of a global payments company in connection with the development of new consumer credit products.°
- Advising the sole bookrunning underwriter concerning an equity offering to finance a retail company’s corporate reorganization to focus on blockchain-based products and services.°
- Representation of a payment services gateway that converts crypto to fiat at the merchant point of sale in regulatory and licensing matters.°
- Representation of various FinTechs in connection with informal discussions, inquiries, investigations, and enforcement matters concerning state financial services regulators, federal banking agencies, the FTC and the CFPB.°
- Representation of two major credit unions in connection with an investigation by the Colorado AG into their practices concerning refunds of GAP waiver fees upon consumer prepayment of auto loans.
- Representation of an earned wage access provider in connection with a multi-state investigation into its business practices.
- Representation of a prepaid card provider in connection with multi-state state enforcement actions concerning certain prior unlicensed conduct.
- Representation of a global bank in California Attorney General investigation concerning alleged mortgage fraud.°
- Representation of major non-bank mortgage servicer in connection with investigation by OH AG.°
- Representation of a foreign bank in connection with an AML/BSA investigation by the NYDFS and FRB.°
- Representation of two directors of the NYSE exchange into joint investigations by the NY AG and SEC relating to the retirement compensation award to former NYSE chairman and CEO Dick Grasso.°
- Representation of a state member bank in connection with a fair lending investigation by NY DFS.°
- Representation of numerous non-bank consumer finance, payments and FinTech clients in connection with supervisory exams, informal inquiries, investigations and enforcement actions brought by nearly every state financial services regulator, including many matters involving the CA DFPI (formerly DBO) and NY DFS.°
- Represented PWCC Marketplace, LLC, PWCC Services, LLC and PWCC Vault, LLC in connection with their senior secured credit facilities in an amount up to $175 million from WhiteHawk Capital Partners, LP and Wingspire Capital LLC.
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Saul prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States
- Financial Services Regulation, 2023
- "Recommended Lawyer"
- "Other Key Lawyer"
- Finance>Fintech, 2023
- "Recommended Lawyer"
- "Other Key Lawyer"
- Media, Technology and Telecoms > Fintech, 2022
- "Recommended Lawyer"
- "Other Key Lawyer"
- Financial Services Regulation, 2023
- Listed, Super Lawyers Magazine, Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers – Banking, Consumer Law and Business Litigation, 2011-Present
- Recipient, Law360, Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing, 2018 & 2019
- Fintech Advisor/Mentor, Plug and Play Tech Center, 2017-Present
- Fellow, American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Member, Governing Committee – Conference on Consumer Finance Law
- Member, Board of Editorial Advisors, Review of Banking and Financial Services
- Member, American Bar Association
- Former Co-Chair, Consumer & Civil Rights Litigation Committee
- Member, Banking Law Committee
- Former Editor-in-Chief, Banking Law Committee Journal
- Member, Consumer Financial Services Committee
- Member, Exchequer Club
- Director (Quality Control Committee), Inova Alexandria Hospital
- Former Editorial Advisor, Banking, Law360
Credentials
Education
- B.A., University of Pennsylvania
-
J.D., magna cum laude, American University
- Editor, American University Law Review
- Karl Scholar; Mussey-Gillett Fellow
- President, Moot Court Board
Clerkships
- Hon. John M. Steadman, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2002-2003
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit