Compass Lexecon has a long history of helping financial institutions navigate challenges posed by changing regulatory requirements, evolving complex financial instruments, and uncertain market conditions. Our team of experts offer a wealth of knowledge and experience, including economists with experience at the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve System, and the Securities and Exchange Commission; former advisers to exchanges, the CFTC, IMF, and IOSCO; as well as senior practitioners and managers from leading financial services firms. Our engagements have involved a variety of financial institution types, including:
- Commercial, Retail, and Investment Banks and Credit Unions
- REITs, Hedge Funds, and Specialty Purpose Financing Vehicles
- Broker-Dealers, Specialist and Derivative Product, and Trading Firms
- Insurance and Re-Insurance Companies
- Asset Managers and Alternative Investment Managers
- Trustees and Custodians
- Securities and Derivatives Exchanges, Clearinghouses, and Settlement Agents
- Consumer and Commercial Finance Companies
Compass Lexecon economists have extensive experience analyzing a variety financial instruments, including debt and equity securities, foreign exchange products, commodities, derivatives, structured finance, and over-the-counter (“OTC”) products. Our experience includes deep familiarity with the following products and practices:
- Futures, forwards, options, and swaps
- Exotic and compound options
- Collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), synthetics, and structured notes
- Mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”)
- Asset-backed securities (“ABS”)
- Insurance-linked securities and catastrophe (“cat”) bonds
- Special purpose entities/vehicles (“SPEs”, “SPVs”)
- Asset-backed commercial paper programs and structured investment vehicles (“SIVs”)
- Auction rate securities (“ARS”) and contingent liquidity instruments
- Financial guaranties and monoline bond insurance
- Structured insurance and alternative risk transfer (e.g., buyouts, runoff solutions, finite risk and finite reinsurance, captives, protected cell companies, dual-trigger insurance, multiline integrated cover)
- Bulk annuity transactions, longevity/mortality trades, bank- and company- owned life portfolios (“BOLI” and “COLI”), and structured settlements
- Trust-issued securities (e.g., trust-preferred stock and trust-issued contingent capital)
The depth of expertise allows us to effectively collect and manage complex data sets and employ sophisticated analytical methods. Compass Lexecon maintains a robust technology infrastructure required to securely manage the large volumes of data arising from these cases. Clients have engaged Compass Lexecon to perform a variety of analyses, including:
- Securities Class Action Analysis, including ERISA and Class Certification Issues
- Valuation and Risk Analyses of Financial Products
- Analysis of Derivatives and Structured Financial Instruments
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Financial Product Design
- Cash Flow Waterfall Modeling for Structured Products
- Analysis of Firm-Wide Solvency and Contingent Asset-Liability Management Practices
- Bankruptcy and Financial Distress Advisory
- Analysis of Financial Market Manipulation Claims
- Market Practice, Risk Governance, and Risk Management Reviews
- Internal Investigations (e.g., Fraud, Unauthorized Trading)
- Regulatory Compliance Assessments
- Structured Credit, Correlation, and Relative-Value Trading Practices