Community Banking – 6805

Fall 2012
Patrick Weber

This course in community banking (typically banks with less than $1 billion in assets) which will utilize basic information regarding the banking regulatory structure to explore current issues facing community bankers and their counsel in today's ever-changing environment. As set forth in the Syllabus attached as Exhibit A, the course will start by exploring the legal definitions of banks and bank holding companies and the related regulatory structure. The regulatory framework underlying the problems troubled banks encounter will also be explored. In light of the issues facing troubled banks, the course will explore director responsibility and liabilities, regulatory enforcement actions, capital structure and capital raising, bank acquisitions and regulatory reform. This course will function as a stand-alone (without prerequisites) course and not as a substitute for the Financial Institutions Law Seminar sometimes taught by Niel Willardson. Though focusing on the particular, highly-regulated business of banking, the course will offer practical insight into the general challenges of a corporate practice. While the course is oriented towards community banking in a regulated environment, many of the concepts addressed, for example, director responsibilities, raising capital and selling businesses, will apply more globally to students interested in counseling small business owners in a nonbanking environment as well.