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Catherine Yepes

Catherine Yepes focuses her practice on financial services, representing financial institutions, including domestic and foreign banks and money services businesses (such as money transmitters). Catherine has represented clients before regulatory agencies such as the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Catherine advises clients on Bank Secrecy Act compliance, with an emphasis on anti-money laundering issues. She handles business, licensing, regulatory, and compliance matters for financial institutions. Her work includes performing independent risk assessments, developing anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, preparing voluntary self-disclosures and specific license applications for submission to OFAC, and assisting with enforcement actions and subpoenas. Catherine also drafts, negotiates, and reviews commercial agreements and terms and conditions.

Catherine previously served as a Staff Attorney at the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami, where she analyzed trial records, researched legal principles, attended oral arguments and assisted in drafting opinions. She also gained experience in appellate litigation during her time as an academic intern with the Supreme Court of Florida in Tallahassee.

On July 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a press release announcing that it will extend the effective date of the final rule establishing anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism program and suspicious activity report filing requirements for certain investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers (IA AML Rule), from Jan. 1, 2026, to Jan. 1, 2028.

Continue Reading FinCEN Postpones Effective Date of Investment Adviser AML Rule and Announces Intent to Revisit Its Scope

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) has withdrawn supervisory guidance for Board-supervised banks concerning crypto-asset and dollar token activities and Board expectations for these activities. The Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also withdrew joint supervisory statements on crypto-asset activities and exposures.

Continue Reading Federal Reserve and FDIC Withdraw Crypto-Asset Guidance for Banks; OCC Issues Clarification for Banks