Joseph E. Silvia

Partner

  • Joseph E. Silvia
  • Phone: +1 312 499 6764

    Joseph E. Silvia - LinkedIn Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 3700
    Chicago, IL 60603-3433
    USA

Joseph E. Silvia knows banks. Mr. Silvia represents financial institutions in a variety of corporate and regulatory matters, including mergers, acquisitions, strategic transactions, structured and subordinated finance, loan sales and participations, corporate governance, payments, anti-money laundering and OFAC/sanctions compliance, and private equity and venture capital investments – in short, everything but litigation and credit facilities. Mr. Silvia’s clients include international, national, regional, community, retail and commercial banks, fintech companies, credit unions and corporations.

Mr. Silvia advises clients on various regulatory and operational issues, including:

  • Risk and regulatory compliance
  • Vendor management (including agreements)
  • Treasury management services and agreements
  • Product agreements and terms of use
  • Licensing
  • Consumer protection and finance compliance, including matters related to the Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other fair lending laws and regulations
  • Digital currencies and blockchain
  • Affiliate transactions
  • Privacy
  • Potential business relationships with high-risk entities

Mr. Silvia previously served as counsel to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he focused on the supervision and regulation of banks, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies, as well as consumer finance and compliance matters. He is Chair of the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee, a faculty member of the bi-annual seminar, Fundamentals of Banking Law and an adjunct professor of law at the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Mr. Silvia is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School (LL.M., 2010), Chicago-Kent College of Law (LL.M., J.D., 2007) and Miami University (B.A., 2004).

Areas of Practice

  • Banking & Finance

  • Regulation of Financial Institutions

  • Mergers & Acquisitions

  • Private Equity

  • Technology Transactions

  • Emerging Businesses

  • Securities and Capital Markets

  • Cannabis

  • Consumer Finance Litigation and Dispute Resolution

  • Financial Markets

  • Financial Services

  • Structured Finance

  • Venture Capital/Emerging Companies

Admissions

  • Illinois

Education

  • The George Washington University Law School, LL.M., International and Comparative Law, 2010
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, LL.M., Financial Services Law, 2007
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 2007
  • Miami University, B.A., 2004

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2024-present
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law
    - Adjunct Professor of Law, 2014-present
  • Dickinson Wright PLLC
    - Partner, 2022-2024
  • Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC
    - Partner, 2019 -2022
  • Chapman and Cutler LLP
    - Senior Counsel, 2018-2019
  • Schiff Hardin LLP
    - Counsel, 2016-2017
  • Locke Lord ]LLP
    - Senior Counsel, 2015-2016
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
    - Counsel, 2011-2015
  • Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC
    - Associate, 2009-2011
  • Mortgage Bankers Association
    - Senior Public Policy Specialist, 2008-2009
  • Washington Legal Foundation
    - Chief Policy Counsel, 2007-2008

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association
    - Section of Business Law
    -- Chair, Banking Law Committee, 2023-present
    -- Vice Chair, Banking Law Committee, 2020-2023
    -- Vice Chair, Subcommittee on Enforcement, 2019-2020
    -- Chair, Subcommittee on Community Banks, 2016-2019
    -- Vice Chair, Subcommittee on Community Banks, 2013-2016
    - Consumer Financial Services Committee
    - Mergers & Acquisitions Committee
  • Fundamentals of Banking Law
    - Faculty Member, 2024-present
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law Institute for Compliance
    - Advisory Board Member, 2013-present
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Group on Financial Markets
    - Member, 2017
  • Law360 Banking Editorial Advisory Board
    - Member, 2017

Selected Publications

Media Hits

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • “FinXTech Session: Cannabis Banking,” Bank Director Acquire or Be Acquired Conference, January 27, 2025, Phoenix, AZ
  • "What to Expect in Banking Regulation Under the Trump Administration in 2025," Practising Law Institute, Webinar, January 14, 2025
  • “Corporate Governance in Banking,” National Academy of Continuing Legal Education, August 2024
  • "Complexities of Acquiring Control: Where the Fed’s Control Rule Meets Other Regulatory Definitions,” National Academy of Continuing Legal Education, October 13, 2022
  • “Complexities of Acquiring Control: Where the Fed’s Control Rule Meets Other Regulatory Definitions,” National Academy of Continuing Legal Education, October 2022
  • "Meet the Expert: Cannabis Banking Legal Brief,” Shield Compliance Client Connect Conference, October 5, 2022
  • “Banks in the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem,” Illinois Bankers Association and Northern Illinois Compliance Association Workshop, Peru, IL, September 30, 2022
  • “Banks in the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem,” Illinois Bankers Association and Central Illinois Compliance Network Workshop, Rockford, IL, September 16, 2022
  • "Banks in the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem," Northern Illinois Compliance Association in partnership with Illinois Bankers, September 2022 
  • "Crypto & Blockchain Seminar for Bankers," Illinois Bankers Association, July 2022
  • "Updates on the Modernization of CRA," Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, June 12, 2019. 
  • "BSA/AML/OFAC Program Fundamentals to Keep You Out of an Enforcement Action," Chicagoland Compliance Association, Chicago,, April 5, 2019
  • "Salvation or Curse: The Impact of Innovation on Community Banking," American Bar Association, Vancouver, BC, March 28, 2019
  • "Hot Topics: BSA/AML Compliance," University of North Carolina Banking Institute, Charlotte, NC, March 22, 2019
  • "BSA/AML Compliance for Banks and Mortgage Companies," Mortgage Bankers Association, Washington, D.C. , September 16, 2018
  • "Cybersecurity for Community Banks–Third Party Relationships," American Bar Association, Austin, Texas, September 13, 2018
  • "Overview of Cybersecurity and Anti-Money Laundering in the U.S.," U.S./E.U. Cybersecurity Summit, Chicago, May 3, 2018
  • "Careers in Banking Law," American Bar Association, Washington, D.C., January 10, 2019

Representative Matters

    Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Represented a $400 million Illinois bank holding company and its subsidiary bank in a merger with an Iowa bank holding company with more than $1 billion in assets.

  • Advised a $1.3 billion Illinois bank holding company and its subsidiary bank in the acquisition of an Illinois state-chartered bank with about $350 million in assets.

  • Represented an Illinois bank holding company in its sale to an Indiana savings and loan holding company.

  • Represented a multi-billion dollar Illinois bank holding company in multiple acquisitions of Illinois state-chartered banks.

  • Advised a publicly-traded $40 billion dollar bank holding company and its national bank subsidiary in multiple acquisitions of Illinois and Wisconsin state-chartered banks.

  • Advised a billion dollar Michigan bank in the acquisition of a payments/fintech company.

  • Represented an Illinois bank holding company and its national bank subsidiary in the acquisition of an Illinois state chartered bank.

  • Represented a multi-billion dollar bank in connection with the acquisition of multiple branch locations from three different sellers.

  • Advised a billion dollar credit union on its purchase and assumption of the assets and liabilities of a Wisconsin state-chartered bank.

  • Advised individual investor in the acquisition of a small Michigan bank holding company and its subsidiary Michigan state-chartered bank.

    • Regulatory and Compliance

  • Represented an Illinois state-chartered bank in its regulatory applications with state and federal bank regulators for approval of its acquisition of another state-chartered bank.

  • Advise bank clients on treasury management and cash management services and the relevant service level agreements with business customers, including for ACH, positive pay, lockbox and other cash management services for business customers.

  • Counsel multiple financial institution clients on expansion of products and services, including outlining regulatory expectations and guidance related to offering new products and services.

  • Negotiate critical vendor agreements, including core processing agreements.

    • Operations and Governance

  • Advised bank holding company on the redrafting of its stockholder agreement.

  • Advised numerous financial institutions on revisions to articles, bylaws and other governance documentation.

  • Reviewed and advised community bank client regarding online account agreement requirements and modifications.

  • Counseled a credit union client transitioning legacy credit card platform.

    • Commercial Finance and Investments

  • Represented a multi-billion dollar bank in drafting and revising a suite of loan participation documents.

  • Advised multiple credit unions on issuing secondary capital.

  • Represented a national bank in its investments in community focused equity funds.

    • Sanctions and OFAC Compliance

  • Advised multiple financial institutions on BSA/AML and OFAC compliance matters (drafting policies/procedures, examination style question responses, specific compliance questions, risk assessment analysis, and similar matters).

  • Counseled multiple financial institutions regarding OFAC SDN list review and confirmations (reviewing timing of SDN check, reviewing potential name hits, analysis of next steps if name is confirmed as on the SDN List.

  • Advised state and national banks on sanctions matters related to customer account opening, diligence, and monitoring related to sanctions regulations.

  • Developed analysis for US company regarding potential sanctions issues with sale of medical devices/supplies to certain countries.

  • Advised financial institutions regarding newly issued proposed and final regulations in the BSA/AML/OFAC/Sanctions space (typically, when a particular business line or customer type is at issue).