Paul Nelson is a Consulting and Testifying Expert at Bates Group with many years of involvement with the regulatory and legal compliance issues facing banks and nonbank financial services providers. He has been involved as a lawyer, as a consultant, as a bank officer and as a member of a bank’s board of directors. His five years as a Senior Attorney and Acting Regional Counsel with the Comptroller of the Currency formed the basis of his education in the principles of bank regulation as practiced in the U.S. He has also served as a General Counsel of the U.S. House Banking Committee and as a registered lobbyist in private practice.
He served 9 years with as a compliance consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and 2 years with the Promontory Group. Mr. Nelson was Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for IBJ Whitehall Bank and Trust, a part of the Mizuho Group. For 11 years he was a Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary of NewTower Trust in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to Joining Bates, Mr. Nelson was a Director and Executive Officer with Reserve Trust Co. of Denver, Colorado. In his long history in financial services regulation, Paul has represented clients in courts, before both federal and state financial regulatory agencies, the U.S. Congress, the SEC, and arbitration panels.
Paul is a consultant and subject matter expert in these Practice Areas and Services:
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Securities and Financial Services Litigation & Consulting
- Retail Securities
- Institutional Securities
- Regulatory & Internal Investigations
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AML & Financial Crimes
- Anti-Money Laundering
- Fraud & Risk Management
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Compliance Solutions
- Anti-Money Laundering
- Bank Secrecy Act
- Compliance Testimony
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MSB, FinTech and Cryptocurrency
- BSA/AML/OFAC Compliance
Credentials
EXPERIENCE
Reserve Trust Company, Director and EVP/ SVP, Denver, CO and Washington, D.C., 2015 – 2020
NewTower Trust Company, Chief Law and Compliance Officer, Bethesda, MD, 2005 – 2016
WBC Financial Group, Principal, Washington, D.C., 2003 – 2014
IBJ Whitehall Financial Group, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, New York, 2000 – 2002
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Regulatory Advisory Services, Washington, D.C., 1991 – 2000
Private Law and Consulting Practice, Washington, D.C., 1983 – 1991; Cameron and Hornbostel, 1989 – 1991; Washington Bank Consultants, 1989 – 1991; Hamilton and Hamilton, 1986 – 1989; Nelson & Yudin, 1983 – 1986
Committee on Banking Finance and Urban Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, General Counsel to the Republican Members, Washington, D.C., 1980 – 1983
Comptroller of the Currency, Senior Attorney, Legal Advisory Services Division, Washington, D.C.; Acting Regional Counsel, Region 12, San Francisco, CA; Senior Attorney, Legislative Counsel Division, Washington, D.C., 1975 – 1980
EDUCATION
Juris Doctorate (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.), Taxation, George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C.
Bachelor of Arts (A.B.), Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Pacific Coast Banking School, Certificate, Seattle, WA
PUBLICATIONS
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Regulatory Handbooks, 1994 – 2000
- Regulatory Guide for Foreign Banks in the U.S., 1993 edition (Price Waterhouse)
- A Guide to the FDIC Improvement Act, 1992 (Price Waterhouse)
- Banking Law Reporter, monthly column, 1983 – 1986
- State banking association magazines, articles on risk-based capital and other regulatory subjects
- Testimony and speeches for members of Congress and the Comptroller of the Currency
OTHER ACTIVITIES
- Director and Treasurer, Friends of the St. Clements and Piney Point Museums, 2002 – present.
- Christ Church, Chaptico, MD, auditor 2008 – 2010; Finance Committee, 2008 – present; Vestry, 2014 – 2017, 2021 - Present
- Adjunct Professor, American University Washington Semester Program, Washington, D.C., 2004 – 2005