Heather Archer Eastep

Heather’s practice focuses on corporate and regulatory representation of small to large regional and national financial institution franchises. She has counseled institutions on M&A transactions, as well as provided representation on securities offerings, capital planning, and corporate restructuring. She also advises financial institutions and financial service providers on emerging regulatory and compliance issues, mostly recently related to high-risk customers and Fintech opportunities.

Strategic business planning

• Structuring and raising equity and debt through public or private offerings.
• Shareholder matters including share repurchases/tender offers, responses to activist investors and related corporate governance planning.
• Structure changes and expansionary activities such as de novo formations, charter conversions, holding company formations, expansion of existing lines of business (trust, insurance, securities and non-banking activities).

Acquisition transactions

• Advises clients on all matters related to the acquisition or sale of existing financial institutions and their nonbank subsidiaries and the acquisition, sale, establishment and relocation of branch offices.
• Mergers and acquisitions of banks with nonbank entities, such as mortgage companies and Fintechs, and investments in banks by third parties.
• Awarded a top legal ranking in the U.S. for the 13th year in a row in SNL Financial’s league tables for bank and thrift legal advisers. (2019)

Corporate Governance

• Advises boards of directors in connection with corporate governance, shareholder activism, and other fiduciary duty matters.
• Management planning, incentive compensation, corporate succession matters and board advisory services.

Regulatory Compliance

• Advises clients on a broad variety of bank regulatory and compliance matters, including consumer compliance, third party risk, compliance management systems, incentive compensation, high-risk customers, transactions with affiliates and other regulatory and compliance matters.
• Response to formal and informal administrative actions and supervisory issues.
• Advises banks and Fintechs on risk management and compliance, including implementation of tailored compliance management systems.

• Named Best Lawyer in FinTech Practice, The Best Lawyers in America, 2024

• Member, American Bar Association, Banking Law Committee
• Member, Virginia Bankers Association
• Member, Women in Housing and Finance, Inc.