Blue Ribbon Panels to Bring High-Level DC Banking Insiders Together at Private Equity Leaders 2009

Dec. 8, 2009 - PRLog -- Investment practitioners and Banking Regulatory experts with tremendous Washington experience will participate at GoldenNetworking.com's Private Equity Leaders Forum 2009, "Buying a Failed Bank: Opportunities and Pitfalls" (http://www.PrivateEquityLeadersForum.com), December 11th, DLA Piper, New York City, forum where private equity executives will be able to ask their most pressing questions to our experienced and distinguished lineup of speakers and panelists, on potentially buying a financial institution. Private Equity Leaders Forum 2009 will include a presentation by Rusty Conner, Managing Director of DLA Piper's Washington DC Office and partners Michael Reed and Richard Coll, leaders of their Banking Regulation team, on "Theory and Practice of Private Equity Firms Investing in Failed Banks".

Banks have been failing at a quickening pace with already more failures this year than all of 2008. The FDIC said its deposit-insurance fund, which backstops trillions of dollars in deposit accounts, fell to a negative $8.2 billion at the end of September, an $18.6 billion drop from the end of June, for just the second time in its history. The number of "problem" banks, which are at a greater risk of failure, rose to 552 in the third quarter, up from 416 at the end of the second quarter. Fifty banks failed in the third quarter, the most since the fourth quarter of 1992, when 55 banks failed. It seemed only a few months ago that the floodgates had opened for private equity firms buying stakes in banks and injecting much-needed capital in the system. The Blue Ribbon Panel assembled for Private Equity Leaders Forum 2009 includes private equity, investment and legal experts and executives that will examine the challenges and opportunities dealing with FDIC-conducted bank auctions.

The following is a list of panelists for Private Equity Leaders Forum 2009:
•   Hans Amell, Chairman, Catalyst Acquisition Group
•   George Assad, Director of International Affairs, Blackstar Group LLC
•   Richard Coll, Of Cousel, DLA Piper
•   Rusty Conner, Managing Partner, Washington DC Office, DLA Piper
•   Richard Hollowell, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal
•   Lawrence Kaplan, Of Counsel, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
•   Carlos Mendez, Senior Managing Partner, ICP Capital
•   Vipal Monga, Senior Writer, The Deal
•   Kevin Petrasic, Of Counsel, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
•   Michael Reed, Partner, DLA Piper
•   Jeffrey Smith, Managing Director, Provident Group Ltd
•   Jonah Sonnenborn, Vice President, Dune Capital Management

Sponsors are invited to contact GoldenNetworking.com by sending an email to info@goldennetworking.com to receive Private Equity Leaders Forum 2009's Sponsorship Package. This forum is produced by GoldenNetworking.com, the premier networking community for businessmen, entrepreneurs, professionals and diplomats, to experience what’s hot, new and next. GoldenNetworking.com has been frequently featured in the press, including a recent article in The New York Times, "GoldenNetworking.com Helps Job Seekers Make Overseas Connections" (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/nyregion/07network.html).

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GoldenNetworking.com is the premier networking community for businessmen, entrepreneurs, professionals and diplomats, to experience what’s hot, new and next