Stephen T. Gannon

Partner

T 804.762.5339 Richmond
Clients want to win, and they deserve nothing less than the highest levels of excellence, discipline, dedication, and sound judgment which will get them to that goal.
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Steve is a financial services industry leader who has previously served as a senior legal executive at Citizens Financial Group, Capital One Financial Corporation, and Wachovia Securities. He has spent the last two decades as an advisor on the highest levels of strategic decision-making for several of the country's largest financial institutions.

Steve previously served as the general counsel of Citizens Financial Group, the nation's 12th largest retail and commercial bank, where he served on the executive committee and directed all legal, corporate governance, corporate transactions, government relations, regulatory relations, and litigation functions for the company.

He advises the banking industry on regulatory and strategic matters ranging from public policy and corporate governance to litigation, compliance, and administrative actions. He also focuses on helping the industry adapt to and stay on top of the burgeoning fintech and digital asset spaces, about which he speaks and writes frequently.

Practice Highlights

Process and product design

Steve has significant experience in leading teams charged with designing and overseeing governance frameworks and processes to ensure that products, and processes and structures, are fully compliant with all applicable laws and regulations to fit within the appropriate strategic goals. He also has deep expertise in banking and broker-dealer regulation, including in connection with numerous public policy issues regarding bank regulatory reform and the developing crypto regulatory framework.

Experienced advocate

Steve has advocated and managed advocacy before the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC, the FDIC, the CFPB, and the SEC, where he served as a branch chief in the Division of Enforcement. He has tried dozens of securities arbitrations and related litigation matters to verdict.

In-house leadership

Before his nearly seven years at Citizens Financial Group, Steve served as the executive vice president and deputy general counsel at Capital One, overseeing corporate and securities transactions, bank and corporate regulatory issues, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and other legal and financial affairs. At Wachovia Securities, Steve was general counsel of the institution's retail brokerage group, responsible for building a more than 100-person department, and served on the firm's Operating Committee.