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:

• Author, “Wisconsin Becomes Third State to Enact Law Regulating Earned Wage Access Services,” Goodwin Alert, March 22, 2024
• Co-Author, “Dos and Don'ts of Interacting with Bank Regulators,” Goodwin Insight, March 14, 2024 
• Co-Author, “FinCEN Proposes AML Program Rule for Investment Advisers,” Goodwin Alert, February 16, 2024
• Co-Author, “FAQs About US Bank Failure,” Goodwin Alert, January 10, 2024
• Co-Author, “FinCEN Issues Beneficial Ownership Information Access Rule; Bank Regulators Issue Interagency Statement,” Goodwin Alert, January 4, 2024
• Co-Author, “FDIC Proposes Guidelines Establishing Standards for Corporate Governance and Risk Management for Covered Institutions with Total Assets of $10 Billion or More,” Goodwin Alert, November 15, 2023
• Co-Author, “FinCEN Publishes Notice and Proposed Rule Related to CTA Beneficial Ownership Information System,” Goodwin Alert, September 19, 2023
• Author, “Fintech-Bank Partnerships: Allocating Risks and Rewards,” Practical Law, October 2, 2023
• Author, “Regulating Earned Wage Access: States Taking the Lead,” Practical Law, September 29, 2023
• Co-Author, “Federal Banking Agencies Propose Basel III Endgame Capital Rules,“ Goodwin Alert, August 3, 2023
• Author, “Missouri Becomes Second State to Enact Law Regulating Earned Wage Access Services,” Goodwin Alert, July 12, 2023
• Author, “Fintech-Bank Partnerships: Allocating Risks and Rewards,” Reuters, July 5, 2023
• Author, “Nevada Enacts First-Of-Its-Kind Licensing Law for Earned Wage Access Services,” Goodwin Alert, June 16, 2023
• Co-Author, “First Republic Bank FAQ,” Goodwin Alert, May 1, 2023 
• Co-Author, “FDIC Pass-Through Coverage,” Goodwin Alert, April 28, 2023 
• Co-Author, “Silicon Valley Bank FAQ,” Goodwin Alert, April 28, 2023
• Co-Author, “FAQ About Recent Bank Failures in the US,” Goodwin Alert, April 28, 2023
• Co-Author, “CFPB Deems Merchant Cash Advances to Be ‘Credit’ Under ECOA,” Goodwin Alert, April 27, 2023
• Author, “Fintech-Bank Lending Partnerships: 8 Key Issues,” Westlaw Today, April 6, 2023
• Author, “Fintech-Bank Lending Partnerships: 8 Key Issues,” Goodwin Insight, March 28, 2023
• Co-Author, “Turbulent Banking Sector Renews Interest in Cash Management and Investment Policies,” Goodwin Alert, March 16, 2023
• Co-Author, “How Should I Be Thinking About My Cash Management Options in Light of Recent Events?,” Goodwin Alert, March 13, 2023
• Co-Author, “New York Finalizes Commercial Financing Disclosure Regulations,” Goodwin Alert, February 14, 2023
• Co-Author, “FinCEN Finalizes Rule Implementing Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Under the Corporate Transparency Act,” Goodwin Alert, October 11, 2022
• Co-Author, “California Finalizes Commercial Financing Disclosure Regulations,” Goodwin Insight, 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 Alert, December 21, 2021
• Co-Author, “CFPB Affirms Regulation Z Does Not Apply to Non-Recourse Earned Wage Access,” Goodwin Insight, January 5, 2021
• Author, “New York to Require Consumer Credit-Like Disclosures by Factors, Merchant Cash Advance Providers, and Certain Fintechs,” Goodwin Insight, July 27, 2020
• Co-Author, “OCC Confirms National Banks and Federal Savings Associations May Provide Cryptocurrency Custody,” Goodwin Insight, July 23, 2020
• Co-Author, “It’s Time for a Fintech to Help Bank on Small-Dollar Lending in the U.S.,” Goodwin Alert, May 22, 2020
• Co-Author, “ILCs Are Back on the Table for Fintechs Seeking Banking Charters,” Goodwin Insight, May 7, 2020
• Co-Author, “Gear Up to Help Your Customers Strategically Save,” Goodwin Insight, April 21, 2020
• Co-Author, “Practical Considerations When Contemplating the Community Bank Leverage Ratio Framework,” Goodwin Alert, March 2, 2020
• Co-Author, “Key Takeaways for Investors from the Federal Reserve’s Final “Control” Rule,” Goodwin Alert, February 4, 2020
• Co-Author, “Weighing the Value of a Bank Holding Company,” BankDirector.com, June 24, 2019
• Co-Author, “The Pros and Cons of Bank Holding Companies,” Goodwin Alert, May 20, 2019
• Co-Author, “Key Takeaways for Investors from the Fed’s Proposal to Revise Its “Control” Regulations,” Goodwin Alert, May 7, 2019
• Co-Author, “Fed Proposes Revisions to Control Regulations for First Time in Decades,” Goodwin Alert, April 26, 2019
• Co-Author, “So, You Want to Be a Bank? Regulatory Process for Forming or Acquiring a Depository Institution - Part III,” Goodwin Insight, October 30, 2018
• Co-Author, “So, You Want to Be a Bank? Consequences of Forming or Acquiring a Depository Institution - Part II,” Goodwin Insight, October 23, 2018
• Co-Author, “So, You Want to Be a Bank? Benefits of Operating Through a Bank Charter and Charter Choice Considerations - Part I,” Goodwin Insight, October 11, 2018
• Co-Author, “New California Law Requires Consumer Credit-Like Disclosures by Factors and Merchant Cash Advance Providers,” Goodwin Insight, October 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