Cravath Swaine & Moore and Davis Polk & Wardwell are advising HM Treasury on US securities laws and regulatory issues associated with the British Government's direct investments in The Royal Bank of
Robbins Kiessling, the New York-based head of Cravath's banking practice, and London-based corporate and capital markets partner Philip Boeckman are advising the British Treasury with respect to
Jeffrey Oakes, the London-based head of Davis Polk's European financial institutions group, and New York-based financial institutions partner Arthur Long are advising on US bank regulatory issues related to the British government's plan to support the banking sector.
Both firms are working with Slaughter and May partners Nigel Boardman and Nilufer von Bismarck, who have served as lead counsel to HM Treasury and the UK Government throughout the current economic crisis.
Davis Polk's Randall Guynn, the New York-based head of the firm's financial institutions group, is also serving as lead US counsel to RBS with respect to a 60% stake the UK Government is taking in the company. Fellow financial institutions partner Luigi De Ghenghi is serving as lead US counsel to London-based Lloyds on its proposed government-backed acquisition of rival HBOS.
RBS and Lloyds are longtime Davis Polk clients, so the firm is utilising separate teams to provide bank regulatory advice. While the situation might seem like a conflict, one lawyer familiar with the situation says that the issues affecting all parties are essentially the same.
"There really isn't any conflict in the traditional sense, and now that the deals are struck, it is a question of dealing with bank regulatory and other issues," the lawyer says. "Needless to say, it is an interesting time."
Over the last few days, Davis Polk has secured the lead role advising the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the US Government's announced $250bn (£142bn) plan to purchase stakes in several US banks. The firm is also representing Spanish banking giant Banco Santander on its pending $1.9bn (£1.1bn) acquisition of Philadelphia-based savings and loan Sovereign Bancorp, the largest remaining US savings and loan association after the demise of Washington Mutual last month.
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