Alexander J. Callen

Alexander J. Callen is a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Industry group. As a member of the firm’s Banking, Consumer Financial Services, and Fintech practices, Alexander focuses on the convergence of banking and financial technology through his representation of banks, financial technology companies (Fintechs), holding companies, and investors in a wide variety of innovative regulatory, transactional, and corporate governance matters.

Alexander advises clients about the complex regulatory requirements related to mergers and acquisitions, holding company formations and reorganizations, changes of control, mutual-to-stock and stock-to-mutual conversions, interstate offices and branching, trust department and asset management operations, regulatory capital, permissible activities and investments, affiliate and insider transactions, third-party risk management, anti-money laundering rules, and examinations. He also works with clients to establish and operate limited purpose trust companies and other nontraditional vehicles for providing fiduciary, custody, and asset management services, and he advises banks and trust companies that manage collective investment funds and other commingled pools.

Alexander helps design commercial and consumer financial products and evaluates their regulatory risks, including alternative finance, lending, factoring, merchant cash advance, earned wage access, income share agreement, and payments products. He also counsels banks and Fintechs on the marketing, delivery, optimization, and scaling of operations through Fintech-bank partnership arrangements, licensing and charter choice, and transactions.

Alexander regularly represents clients before federal and state regulatory agencies, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and various state financial regulatory agencies. He also helps prepare banks and Fintechs for supervision by regulatory agencies and represents them in connection with regulatory inquiries and investigations.

Alexander supports local entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organizations in a variety of pro bono matters.

While in law school, Alexander served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Viktor V. Pohorelsky of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and as an associate editor for the Fordham Law Review. He also worked as a Project Fellow at the Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy, where he researched online privacy issues, analyzed website privacy policies, assisted in drafting research results, and made related recommendations in areas affecting technology.

Alexander is a regular contributor to Goodwin's Financial Services Weekly News Roundup. Alexander’s authorship also includes:

• Co-Author, “New York Finalizes Commercial Financing Disclosure Regulations,” Goodwin Insights, (Feb. 14, 2023)
• Co-Author, “FinCEN Finalizes Rule Implementing Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Under the Corporate Transparency Act,” Goodwin Insights, (Oct. 11, 2022)
• Co-Author, “California Finalizes Commercial Financing Disclosure Regulations,” Goodwin Insights, (June 13, 2022)
• Co-Author, “FinCEN Proposes Rules Implementing Corporate Ownership Requirements Under Corporate Transparency Act to Fill Gaps in U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Laws,” Goodwin Insights, (Dec. 21, 2021)
• Co-Author, “CFPB Affirms Regulation Z Does Not Apply to Non-Recourse Earned Wage Access,” Goodwin Insights, (Jan. 5, 2021)
• Author, “New York to Require Consumer Credit-Like Disclosures by Factors, Merchant Cash Advance Providers, and Certain Fintechs,” Goodwin Insights, (July 27, 2020)
• Co-Author, “OCC Confirms National Banks and Federal Savings Associations May Provide Cryptocurrency Custody,” Goodwin Insights, (July 23, 2020)
• Co-Author, “It’s Time for a Fintech to Help Bank on Small-Dollar Lending in the U.S.,” Goodwin Insights, (May 22, 2020)
• Co-Author, “ILCs Are Back on the Table for Fintechs Seeking Banking Charters,” Goodwin Insights, (May 7, 2020)
• Co-Author, “Gear Up to Help Your Customers Strategically Save,” Goodwin Insights, (Apr. 21, 2020)
• Co-Author, “Practical Considerations When Contemplating the Community Bank Leverage Ratio Framework,” Goodwin Insights, (Mar. 2, 2020)
• Co-Author, “Key Takeaways for Investors from the Federal Reserve’s Final “Control” Rule,” Goodwin Insights, (Feb. 4, 2020)
• Co-Author, "Weighing the Value of a Bank Holding Company," (June 24, 2019)
• Co-Author, “The Pros and Cons of Bank Holding Companies,” Goodwin Insights, (May 20, 2019)
• Co-Author, “Key Takeaways for Investors from the Fed’s Proposal to Revise Its “Control” Regulations,” Goodwin Insights, (May 7, 2019)
• Co-Author, “Fed Proposes Revisions to Control Regulations for First Time in Decades,” Goodwin Insights, (Apr. 26, 2019)
• Co-Author, “Fintech Flash: So, You Want to Be a Bank? Regulatory Process for Forming or Acquiring a Depository Institution - Part III,” Goodwin Insights, (Oct. 30, 2018)
• Co-Author, “Fintech Flash: So, You Want to Be a Bank? Consequences of Forming or Acquiring a Depository Institution - Part II,” Goodwin Insights, (Oct. 23, 2018)
• Co-Author, “Fintech Flash: So, You Want to Be a Bank? Benefits of Operating Through a Bank Charter and Charter Choice Considerations - Part I,” Goodwin Insights, (Oct. 11, 2018)
• Co-Author, “Fintech Flash: New California Law Requires Consumer Credit-Like Disclosures by Factors and Merchant Cash Advance Providers,” Goodwin Insights, (Oct. 4, 2018)
• Co-Author, “Privacy Harms and the Effectiveness of the Notice and Choice Framework,” 11 ISJLP 485, (2015)
• Co-Author, “Privacy Enforcement Actions,” Fordham CLIP, (June 24, 2014)
• Author, “Avoiding Double Recovery: Assessing Liquidated Damages in Private Wage and Hour Actions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law,” 81 Fordham L. Rev. 1881, (2013)