Profile: John Douglas

Banking

Biography: Banking

John Douglas is a partner at Alston & Bird. His practice concentrates on the regulation of financial institutions, mergers and acquisitions and other transactions involving banks and thrifts, and on advising officers, directors and shareholders in such institutions.

He represented First Union Corporation in its acquisition of CoreStates Financial Corp and First Fidelity Bancorporation, assisted Bank of America in a strategic alliance and outsourcing venture to provide electronic bill payment and presentment - involving a US$500 million equity investment - and represented a consortium of 18 of the United States' largest banks and a technology company to form the largest provider of home banking services. He also assisted six major international banks and a card association in the formation of a major global payments processing company, and advised one of the world's largest asset management companies in the formation and subsequent acquisition of a series of national trust banks.

Mr Douglas served as general counsel of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and was involved in restructurings following the major bank failures in the late 1980s, participating in the landmark Financial Institutions Regulatory Reform and Structuring Act of 1989 and in the organisation of the Resolution Trust Corporation.

As a member of the steering committee of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps - a non-profit organisation formed to assist former state-controlled economies develop banking and capital markets systems - he has provided advice to the governments of Russia, China and Indonesia.

Mr Douglas earned a JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia, where he was an editor of Georgia Law Review and Order of the Coif. He earned a BA, cum laude, in Economics from Davidson College.