This posting was written by Michael E. Bleier and Travis P. Nelson.

On May 9, 2012, the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) released three orders approving investments in the U.S. banking market by entities based in China. The investments, which consist of the acquisition of 80 percent of a national banking association and the establishment of two foreign branch offices, are particularly notable because the investments are coming from China. The Chinese Government will be an indirect owner of a national bank, and the conclusions that the FRB draws regarding the financial regulatory system of China are significant and will facilitate greater investment in U.S. banking organizations by Chinese-based companies in the future. To read the entire alert, please visit reedsmith.com.

Michael E. Bleier joined Reed Smith after serving for nearly 14 years as General Counsel for Mellon Financial Corporation and Mellon Bank, NA, and as manager of legal affairs. Prior to joining Mellon in 1982, he was in the Legal Division of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC for 11 years; when he left the Federal Reserve he was Assistant General Counsel, responsible for the bank holding company area. At Reed Smith he has counseled General Counsel clients, filed expansion applications with the Federal Reserve, the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC, and also advised financial institution clients on an array of regulatory matters.

Travis P. Nelson is a senior associate in the Financial Services Regulatory Group at Reed Smith LLP, resident in the Princeton and New York offices. Prior to joining Reed Smith, Travis was an Enforcement Counsel with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Treasury Department, in Washington, D.C. Travis is also adjunct faculty at Villanova University School of Law, and a frequent lecturer at national and regional banking conferences.