Dwight Smith focuses his practice on bank regulatory matters that affect the full range of the operations of banks and thrifts. Mr. Smith’s recent representations have covered new requirements for banking institutions under the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel III, bank mergers and acquisitions, efforts to raise capital, and formal administrative enforcement proceedings.
From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Smith was Deputy Chief Counsel for Business Transactions at the Office of Thrift Supervision in which capacity he oversaw all applications to enter the thrift industry, significant mergers, acquisitions and offerings, and mutual to stock conversions. He has written or spoken on a variety of banking issues, including bank capital, compliance issues and privacy and data security.
Mr. Smith was an articles and book review editor of the Yale Law Journal in law school. After graduation, he clerked for The Honorable Hugh H. Bownes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Following private practice in Washington, he joined the Office of Thrift Supervision as Deputy Chief Counsel for Legal Policy in 1990, later becoming Deputy Chief Counsel for Business Transactions. He joined Morrison & Foerster in February 2011.
Publications
"The Financial Crisis: Implications for Regulatory Capital," Bank Accounting & Finance, February-March 2010
“Supervisory Capital Assessment Program Results and Their Meaning for Other Financial Institutions," The Real Estate Finance Journal, Fall 2009
“With Housing Bill Now Law, Significant Regulatory Decisions To Be Made," Real Estate Finance, Vol. 25, No. 3, October 2008
“Basel II: Proposed U.S. Rule Implementing Standardized Approach,” September 17, 2008
"Basel II and IA: An Update," Bank Accounting & Finance, February/March 2007