Michael H. Krimminger’s practice focuses on U.S. and international banking and financial institutions.

In particular, he advises on the challenges and opportunities stemming from statutory and regulatory reforms in the United States and internationally. He recently served as lead counsel to itBit Trust Company, a commercial Bitcoin exchange, in becoming the first U.S.-chartered and regulated virtual currency exchange.

Michael joined Cleary Gottlieb in 2012 as partner after serving for more than two decades in numerous leadership positions with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including most recently as its general counsel. As general counsel, he served as the principal legal and policy advisor to the chairman and board of directors regarding the legislative development and later implementation of regulatory and policy components of the Dodd-Frank Act, including its SIFI resolution, living wills, capital markets and capital, and structured finance requirements. Michael played a major role in the FDIC and U.S. efforts to enhance resolution planning and cross-border cooperation among G-20 countries. He was also responsible for all legal policy, litigation, corporate issues and operations for the 730 attorney and non-attorney members of the Legal Division.

Prior to serving as general counsel, Michael served as Special Advisor for Policy to the Chairman and deputy to the chairman for policy. He played a central role in the FDIC’s response to the financial crisis and the development of Dodd-Frank Act provisions addressing capital markets, capital requirements, creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, living wills, enhanced prudential supervision, risk retention, resolution authority, and other provisions of the act.

Michael’s international experience includes serving as the co-chair of the Basel Committee’s Cross Border Resolutions Group and representing the FDIC on the Financial Stability Board’s Resolution Steering Group and other bodies. He has played a central role in bilateral and multilateral discussions with regulators around the world on legal reform, resolution planning, capital and liquidity requirements, and strategies for implementation of financial market reforms for derivatives and other financial market contracts.

Michael became senior counsel in 2020. 

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Notable Experience

  • itBit Trust Company in becoming the first U.S.-chartered and regulated virtual currency exchange. Representation has included advice on novel regulatory issues, including the application of anti-money laundering, capital requirements, consumer protection, and cybersecurity standards in the context of virtual currency exchange activity.

  • More than 20 major U.S. and non-U.S. banking organizations with respect to their U.S. resolution plans, including American Express, HSBC, and BNPP.

  • Multiple U.S. and non-U.S. financial institutions regarding the Federal Reserve Board’s enhanced prudential standards adopted under Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the implementation of enhanced capital requirements under the Basel Committee’s “Basel II,” “Basel II-1/2” and “Basel III.”

  • Various trade associations and individual financial institutions in drafting comment letters in response to the recently proposed qualified financial contract (QFC) recordkeeping rule.

  • American Bankers Association Securities Association (ABASA) on matters related to regulatory reform initiatives.

  • Multiple U.S. and non-U.S. financial institutions in preparing for the Financial Stability Board’s impending Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) standard and other capital-related initiatives.

  • Trade associations, including The Clearing House, on the development of U.S. and European frameworks for addressing the failure of global financial institutions, strategies for addressing such failures, and the rights of surviving financial institutions as creditors under such regimes.

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Publications

January 25, 2021 “FDIC Overhauls Brokered Deposit Regulation,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Hugh C. Conroy, Jr., Jack Murphy, Allison H. Breault, Patrick Fuller and Zachary Lewis Baum)

December 21, 2020 “Agencies Finalize Resolution Plan Guidance for Certain Foreign Banks,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Lauren E. Gilbert, Lisa M. Schweitzer, Hugh C. Conroy, Jr., and Julia A. Knight)

November 13, 2020 “Key Areas to Watch in Financial Institution Regulation Under President Biden,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Hugh C. Conroy, Jr., Jack Murphy, Colin D. Lloyd, Allison H. Breault, Michael H. Sims, Patrick Fuller, Lauren E. Gilbert and Zachary L. Baum) 

March 26, 2020 “FDIC Approves Two New ILCs and Proposes Supervision of ILC Parents,” (with Hugh C. Conroy, Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, and Patrick Fuller)

March 26, 2020 “Summary of U.S. Financial Sector Initiatives Responding to COVID-19,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Hugh C. Conroy, and Colin D. Lloyd) 

March 25, 2020 “DFS Regulation Clarifies Scope of Governor Cuomo’s Forbearance Order,” (with Nowell D. Bamberger, Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, and Hugh C. Conroy)

March 24, 2020 “Comprehensive Summary of U.S. Financial Sector Initiatives Responding to COVID-19,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Hugh C. Conroy, and Colin D. Lloyd)

March 19, 2020 “Agencies Propose Resolution Plan Guidance For Three Large FBOs,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, John Anderson Lightbourne, and Lisa M. Schweitzer)

March 17, 2020 “Response to COVID-19: Break Out the Financial Crisis Toolkit?,” (with Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Hugh C. Conroy, Jr., and Colin D. Lloyd)

February 12, 2020 “Observations on the Volcker Funds Proposal,” (with Hugh C. Conroy, Jr., Colin D. Lloyd, Alexander Young-Anglim, Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Michael A. Mazzuchi, Allison H. Breault, and Patrick Fuller)

October 28, 2019: “Custody Transfer of Digital Assets: Key U.S. Legal Considerations,” Global Legal Insights to: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation 2020 (with Colin D. Lloyd and Sandra Rocks)

May 23, 2019: “Federal Reserve Board Proposes to Expand Netting Protections of FDICIA to Additional Institutions,” (with Colin D. Lloyd, Sandra M. Rocks, Penelope L. Christophorou, Knox McIlwain, Brandon M. Hammer, Lauren Gilbert, and Ellen Campbell)

April 11, 2019: “Agencies Propose Revised RRP Rules,” republished by The Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog (with Lisa Schweitzer, Knox McIlwain, Sarah Stanton, Lauren Gilbert, Josh Nimmo, Brian Kesten, and Luca Amorello)

March 22, 2019: “The Conference of State Banking Supervisors Seeks to Improve Consistency of FinTech Regulation, but Questions Remain,” republished by Law360 (with Patrick Fuller and John Lightbourne)

March 19, 2019: “The Choice Between Judicial and Administrative Sanctioned Procedures to Manage Liquidation of Banks: A Transatlantic Perspective,” republished by the Oxford University Press Capital Markets Law Journal and Oxford Business Law Blog (with Jens-Hinrich Binder, Maria Nieto, and Dalvinder Singh)

January 8, 2019: “Agencies Finalize 2019 Resolution Plan Guidance for U.S. G-SIBs,” (with Sarah M. Stanton, Joshua Nimmo, Lisa M. Schweitzer, Lauren Gilbert, Knox McIlwain, and Luca Amorello)

January 7, 2019: “First Wave FBOs Receive Feedback Significant Progress, Next Steps Identified,” (with Sarah M. Stanton, Joshua Nimmo, Lisa M. Schweitzer, Lauren Gilbert, Knox McIlwain, and Luca Amorello)

November 20, 2018: “SEC Divisions Issue Public Statement on Digital Assets and ICOs, Echoing Recent Enforcement Actions,” (with Pamela Marcogliese, Colin Lloyd and Adam Motiwala); republished November 21, 2018, by Law360)

August 9, 2018: “OCC Begins Accepting Applications for FinTech Charters,” (with Derek M. Bush, Patrick Fuller, Pamela L. Marcogliese, Colin D. Lloyd, and Knox McIlwain)

July 13, 2018: “California’s Groundbreaking Privacy Law: The New Front Line in the U.S. Privacy Debate,” (with Katherine Mooney Carroll, Pamela L. Marcogliese, Jonathan S. Kolodner, Daniel Ilan, Rahul Mukhi, Alexis Collins, Gareth Kristensen, Jane C. Rosen, Martha E. Vega-Gonzalez and Anne Titus Hilby)

June 18, 2018: “SEC Director of Corporation Finance States That Secondary Market Sales of Ether Are Not Securities Transactions Now, but ‘Something Else’,” (with Pam Marcogliese, Matt Solomon, and Zachary Baum; republished June 21, 2018 by the Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog.

June 15: 2018: “Highlights of Proposal to Simplify the Volcker Rule,” (with Katherine Mooney Carroll, Derek Bush, Hugh Conroy, Colin Lloyd, Mike Mazzuchi, Jack Murphy, Patrick Fuller, Allison Breault, and Alexander Young-Anglim), Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation.

March 15, 2018: “U.S. Regulators Continue Scrutiny of Virtual Currencies and ICOs,” (with Colin D. Lloyd)

March 15, 2018: “Senate Passes Regulatory Relief Bill,” (with Hugh C. Conroy, Jr., Alexander Young-Anglim, Derek M. Bush, Katherine Mooney Carroll, Jack Murphy and Allison H. Breault) 

March 1, 2018: “Supreme Court Holds Section 546(e) Safe Harbor Does Not Apply to All Transfers Made Through Financial Institutions,” (with Seth Grosshandler, Lisa Schweitzer, Sean O’Neal, Luke Barefoot, Sandra Rocks, Penelope Christophorou, Humayun Khalid, Knox McIlwain, Thomas Kessler, and Brandon Hammer), republished by ABA Business Law Today, March 29, 2018

February 28, 2018: “Treasury Recommends Retaining Orderly Liquidation Authority,” (with Seth Grosshandler, Lisa Schweitzer, Knox McIlwain, Igor Kleyman, Brandon Hammer, Lauren Gilbert and Joshua Nimmo)  

February 14, 2018: “SEC and CFTC Testimony on Virtual Currencies: Is More Regulation on the Horizon?,” (with Colin D. Lloyd and Zachary Baum; republished March 12, 2018, by Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation) 

January 16, 2018: “Secretary Mnuchin Announces FSOC Working Group to Combat Money Laundering and Speculative Risks in Virtual Currencies,” (with Jim Wintering) 

January 16, 2018: “SEC Requests Withdrawal of Bitcoin Futures ETFs,” (with Colin D. Lloyd, Carl F. Emigholz, Christopher Robins and Jim Wintering)

January 5, 2018: “Regulators Remain Focused on Risks Associated with Cryptocurrencies, ICOs, and Cryptocurrency-Related Investment Products,” (with Colin D. Lloyd and Christopher Robins)

August 24, 2017: “NY Regulations Set The Bar High For Cybersecurity Standards,” Law360 (with Daniel Ilan, Katherine Mooney Carroll and Daniel Esannason)

August 21, 2017: “NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulations Take Effect,” (with Daniel Ilan, Jonathan S. Kolodner, Rahul Mukhi and Katherine Mooney Carroll) 

August 7, 2017: “D.C. Court Issues Significant Data Breach Decision,” (with Jonathan S. Kolodner, Rahul Mukhi, Daniel Ilan and Katherine Mooney Carroll)

April 2017: “FDIC Proposes Modifications to QFC Recordkeeping Rules for IDIs in a Troubled Condition,” The Banking Law Journal (with Seth Grosshandler, Knox McIlwain and Igor Kleyman)

March 3, 2017: “New York Cybersecurity Regulations for Financial Institutions Enter Into Effect,” (with Jonathan S. Kolodner and Daniel Ilan) 

September 2016: “Single and Multiple Point of Entry: A U.S. and UK Approach,” chapter in Bank Resolution: The European Regime, Oxford University Press, edited by Jens-Hinrich Binder and Dalvinder Singh, to be published by Oxford Press

May 28, 2015: “The Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Actions Violate HERA and Established Insolvency Principles,” Cato Working Paper (Cato Institute)

April 2015: Bail-in, Not Bail-out: Developing SIFI Resolution Strategies Around the Globe, Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog

February 2015: Closing Financial Institutions on Both Sides of the Atlantic: Are There Differences of Approach? by Michael Krimminger and María J. Nieto

January 2015: Cross-Border Insolvencies, Banking Practice Portfolio Series (Bloomberg BNA)

Events