Thomas A. "Tom" Pennington, Government Attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina

As former General Counsel for the Americas of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Tom Pennington has extensive experience in the financial services industry and with its regulation, corporate and securities law, and litigation matters. Tom’s focus is on federal regulatory advice, defense and investigations, federal and New York corporate governance, and corporate finance matters.

Tom represents financial institutions, and also advises fintech start-ups and clients in the investment management sector, with an emphasis on private fund formation and compliance. He has led and documented corporate, investment fund, and venture stage finance transactions.

Tom previously served as General Counsel for BTMU, the corporate and investment banking arm of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the largest financial groups in the world. During his time at MUFG, Tom was a key advisor to executive management and various boards of directors. He also played critical roles in areas as diverse as risk management, corporate governance, resolution and recovery planning, project management, distressed lending and portfolio management, compliance, media relations, regulatory compliance and relations, and managing investigations both internal and regulatory in nature. He was deeply involved in managing and advising on BSA/AML and OFAC matters from both the domestic and international perspectives. He was also active in strategic planning during his tenure at MUFG, which was of particular importance during the period of upheaval in the financial services sector following the financial crises in 2008.

In addition, Tom was responsible for the oversight and management of the BTMU’s legal risk and affairs in the United States, Canada, and Latin America, including legal support for all of the bank’s transactional businesses. Tom was a member of the bank’s headquarters for the Americas executive committee, Latin America executive committee, and a number of other management committees including business strategy, risk and capital, and compliance. He served as a director of BTMU Leasing & Finance, Inc., BTMU LF Capital LLC, BTMU Securities, Inc., and MUFG Americas Capital Company, BTMU’s merchant banking subsidiary. He also acted as corporate secretary and as the primary legal advisor to many of the bank’s other subsidiaries operating in the United States.

Tom currently serves as a guest lecturer at Duke University School of Law on bank regulation.