Introduction

Karen Grandstrand, a shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron’s Minneapolis Office and Chair of the firm’s Bank & Finance Group, is a nationally recognized financial services regulatory attorney, financial industry advisor, and dealmaker.

Karen advises clients on (i) examination matters, (ii) compliance and enforcement actions, (iii) mergers and acquisitions, (iv) the recapitalization and acquisition of troubled banks, (v) private equity and other investments in banking organizations, (vi) FDIC receivership matters and purchases from the FDIC, (vii) privacy, (viii) corporate governance, and (ix) payment system and trust matters.

Karen co-chairs the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Banking Law Committee, is Chair of the MSBA Business Law Section, and is a frequent speaker on banking and financial services. She addressed the topic of US Regulatory Reform at the World Services Group Annual Meeting in Costa Rica and co-chairs the Annual Banking Law Institute.

Prior to joining Fredrikson, she had a 14-year career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis where she was the Senior Vice President of the Banking Supervision and Risk Management Departments. In this position, she was the senior officer in charge of safety and soundness, consumer, CRA, trust, and IT examinations, as well as applications involving banks and holding companies located in the Ninth Federal Reserve District.

Education

• Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, J.D., 1982
• Concordia College, Moorhead, B.A., 1977, summa cum laude

Bar Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1982
• State of Illinois, 1982
• State of Minnesota, 1984
• Trial Bar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1984
• U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1986

Practice Areas

• Bank & Finance, Chair
• Banking & Financial Services Litigation
• Internet, Technology & E-Commerce
• Privacy
• Corporate
• Corporate Governance & Investigations
• Mergers & Acquisitions

Selected Publications & Presentations

• Quoted, “Stress tested: How U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo performed in the Fed’s simulated economic nightmare,” Twin Cities Business Journal, March 19, 2013
• “M&A Transactions – The Next Phase,” FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, March 2013
• “Regulating or Managing? The Line is Growing Thin,” published in American Banker, March 2013
• Speaker, 32nd Annual Eide Bailly Bankers Seminar, November 1, 2012
• “The State of Banking,” FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, June 2012
• Moderator, Regulator Panel, Minnesota Bankers Association President & Senior Management Conference, Alexandria, MN, June 19, 2012
• Presenter, Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota, Parallel Planning is Essential for your Family Bank’s Structure, June 5, 2012
• Planning Committee, 2012 MN State Bar Association Business Law Institute, May 2012
• Co-Chair, 2012 MN State Bar Association Annual Banking Law Institute, April 16, 2012
• Panelist, “‘Hot Topics!’ Learn the Basics about Banking from Three Experienced Women Practitioners,” Minnesota Women Lawyers Professional Enrichment Committee, 2012
• “Making the Most of Your Bank Holding Company,” Bank Holding Company Association Legal Live Webinar, February 9, 2012
• Moderator, “Regulatory Issues: A Moderated Discussion with the FDIC, OCC, and the Federal Reserve,” Minnesota Bankers Association, November 8, 2011
• Presenter, “Key Developments that Every Banker Should Know,” Fredrikson & Byron Bank & Finance Seminar, September 22, 2011
• “Possible Shutdown of Minnesota State Government Offices,” co-authored with Jane C. Ball, Senior Paralegal, FredALERT: Bank & Finance, June 2011
• Speaker, “Enterprise Risk Management for Boards,” National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), May 18, 2011
• Speaker, “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act and Banking Trends and Challenges,” Risk Management Association (RMA), May 18, 2011
• Speaker, “Hottest Topics in Banking,” Bank Holding Company Association, May 3, 2011
• Speaker, “Protecting Bank Capital:  Enforcement Action Avoidance or Compliance,” University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking, February 8, 2011
• “The Dodd-Frank Act: A Look at the Immediate Impacts,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredALERT: Bank & Finance, August 26, 2010
• Speaker, Regulatory Issues: A Moderated Discussion with State of Minnesota, Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC, Minnesota Bankers Association, Duluth, MN, August 2010
• Speaker, World Services Group 8th Annual Meeting, Costa Rica, November 12-13, 2009
• “The Future of Supervision and Regulation,” FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, September 2009
• “Recent Developments in Government Banking Programs,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredALERT: Bank & Finance, May 29, 2009
• Moderator, Regulatory Issues: A Moderated Discussion with the FDIC, OCC and the Federal Reserve, February 9, 2009
• “Treasury Publishes Capital Purchase Program Term Sheet for S Corporations,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredALERT: Bank & Finance, January 16, 2009
• “Final Rule for FDIC’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: Important Changes,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, November 26, 2008
• “Financial Institutions Consider Participation in the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, November 21, 2008
• “Financial Institutions Weigh Benefits and Costs of Participating in the Capital Purchase Program,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, November 21, 2008
• “Regulatory Panel and Legal Update” and “Bank Acquisitions in Today’s Economy,” Eide Bailly’s 28th Annual Bankers Seminar, October 14, October 30, November 6, 2008
• “Update of Measures Taken to Create Financial Stability,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, October 13, 2008
• “President Bush Signs the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008,” co-authored with Karla Reyerson, FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, October 3, 2008
• “Banking & Finance Q&A - The industry as a whole is ‘sound and stable and undervalued,’” Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, August 29, 2008
• Speaker, Regulatory Issues: A Moderated Discussion with FDIC and OCC, Minnesota Bankers Association, Bloomington, MN, August 27, 2008
• Speaker, Communicating with Regulators in a Challenging Lending Environment, RMA Minnesota Associates Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, June 25, 2008
• “Ramifications of a Less Than Satisfactory Examination,” FredNEWS: Bank & Finance, June 2008
• “A Focus on Mergers and Acquisitions,” Inside the Minds™, Winning Legal Strategies for Banking Law, Aspatore Books, 2005

Professional Activities

• Co-Chair, Banking Law Institute
• Planning Committee, Business Law Institute
• Co-Chair, MSBA Banking Law Committee
• Chair, MSBA Business Law Section Executive Council
• Member, American Bar Association, MN Bar Association, and Hennepin County Bar Association
• Board Member, Concordia College Board of Regents, 2011-present
• Advisory Board Member, Business Law Institute at Hamline University School of Law, 2011-present
• Director, TCF Financial Corporation, 2010-present
• Director, Thrivent Financial Bank, 2006-2010
• Member, Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable, 2000-present, President and Director, 2005-2008
• Director, Minnesota Youth Symphonies, 2003-2009
• Director, Augsburg College Suzuki Talent Education Foundation, 2004-2005
• Director, Twin Cities Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., 1993 to 2001
• Mentor, Concordia College, 2011-present
• Faculty Member, MN Institute of Legal Education and MN CLE
• Speaker, University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking
• Speaker, Professional Trade Association Conferences and Seminars
• Guest Lecturer, University of Minnesota, St. Thomas University, and Hamline University
• Legal Writing Instructor, University of Minnesota Law School
• Senior Vice President, Banking Supervision and Risk Management, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 1985-1999
• Frankel and McKay Ltd., Chicago, Trial Attorney, 1983-1985

Honors & Distinctions

• 2011-2013 Minnesota Super Lawyer, Minnesota Super Lawyers magazine
• MNCREW annual Spotlight on Success honoree, September 2012
• Top Women in Finance Circle of Excellence, 2011, Finance and Commerce
• Named to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 25 Industry Leaders List, 2007
• Woodward/White The Best Lawyers in America, since 2006 (Selected by peers)
• Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, 2012
• Recipient, Concordia College Regent’s Award, 2000