Vice President, Regulatory Counsel

Benefits Overview

A career at CoBank can offer you the opportunity to make a personal impact on the people and communities where we do business. In order to be the best, we hire the best!

Benefits Offered by CoBank

• Careers with a purpose
• Time-Off Packages, 20 days of vacation, 10 paid sick days and 11 paid holidays
• Competitive Compensation & Incentive
• Hybrid work model: flexible arrangements for most positions
• Benefits Packages, including Medical, Dental and Vision coverage, Disability, AD&D, and Life Insurance
• Robust associate training and development with CoBank University
• Tuition reimbursement for higher education
• Outstanding 401k: up to 6% matching and additional 3% non-elective contribution & Student Loan Match
• Community Impact: United Way Angel Day, Volunteer Day and Associate Directed Contribution
• Associate Resource Groups: creating a culture of respect and inclusion
• Recognize a fellow associate through our GEM awards

Job Description

Reports to the Senior Vice President and Managing Counsel Legal Loan Processing. Works with the SVP Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Privacy Officer and the bank's loan transaction attorneys (Legal and Loan Processing Division). Serves as an expert in the field and principal advisor on legal and regulatory issues for bank programs and policies compliance with relevant Farm Credit Administration (FCA) and other financial sector regulations and requirements. Provides legal and regulatory expert opinion on borrower eligibility and lending requirements. Provides legal and regulatory guidance on necessary bank response to final regulations, new policy guidance, and examination requirements. Collaborates with the VP, Financial & Regulatory Compliance for ensuring that membership and other requirements are met for cash management and derivatives transactions. Analyzes proposed federal and state regulations, including the writing of comment letters and other correspondence.

Essential Functions

• Leads, develops and implements comprehensive policies and related practices dealing with FCA compliance matters to provide the basis for management decisions and control. Provides legal and regulatory support to the bank’s compliance programs, ensuring that the bank’s business practices and policies, financial transactions, and other business activities adhere to all applicable FCA and other federal, state and administrative regulations. Serves as an independent and objective body that reviews and evaluates FCA and other federal, state and administrative regulatory issues and concerns.
• Leads, develops, implements, and updates bank policies, compliance standards, and administrative systems in areas focused on FCA and other federal, state and administrative regulatory matters.
• Analyzes and develops comment letters on proposed regulations and guidance in collaboration with the SVP Regulatory Affairs.
• Creates formal networks with key decision makers within the FCA. Maintains open two-way communication with the FCA and ensures that the FCA has timely and appropriate availability to all requested information related to its examinations.
• Serves as external spokesperson for the bank in regard to Regulatory affairs at meetings with the FCA, other Farm Credit System institutions, and others, including conferences as appropriate, with special emphasis on those of the Farm Credit System attorneys. Develops and presents information on legal matters for the foregoing and other related matters, seminars, or institutes and is widely recognized as expert and thought leader.
• Develops public policy and regulatory objectives & strategies to be considered by the bank’s Management Executive Committee and implementation of those strategies.
• Works with Government Affairs on legislative strategies and language.
• Advises the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel to ensure that the legal day-to-day and project needs of the bank are met in the regulatory area. Oversees and monitors the work of outside counsel, as needed. Advises on legal issues related to regulatory, compliance, eligibility, security law, lending limits, cyber, etc. Prepares, reviews, negotiates and/or interprets various legal instruments and documents.
• Provides legal and regulatory opinion & analysis on borrower eligibility and similar entity qualification determinations.
• Reviews the daily newsfeed, stays up-to-date, researches and monitors for regulatory changes. Determines the applicability of regulation changes to the bank and shares with appropriate CoBank division/staff to review and/or address the regulatory requirements.
• Reviews, updates, maintains, and develops content for various compliance manuals, policies and directives, and related documentation, including the bank’s standards of conduct program, and derivatives compliance program.
• Reviews multiple systems data, completes the monthly monitoring report to ensure membership requirements have been met on cash management and derivative transactions, and coordinates solutions to address any issues, and coordinates the purchase of non-voting, non-patronage shares of stock, as necessary.

Education

• JD from an accredited law school and admission to the bar in good standing, as necessary for the performance of duties, required
• Bachelor's Degree required

Work Experience

• 15 years of relevant experience with a corporate legal department, law firm, and/or governmental or regulatory entity- working specifically with legal and regulatory issues in the financial services industry, required
• 20 years of of relevant experience with a corporate legal department, law firm, and/or governmental or regulatory entity- working specifically with legal and regulatory issues in the financial services industry, preferred
• Expert in the field of laws and regulations affecting regulated financial institutions, with the ability to evaluate and apply the Farm Credit Act and FCA regulations to the bank’s operations.
• Has served as a keynote speaker at industry-wide events
• Working knowledge of CoBank and the Farm Credit System, and its Congressionally directed mission to serve agriculture and rural America, preferred.
• Prior experience in administrative law, preferred.
• Excellent leadership skills, with the demonstrated ability to work in a team-oriented and collaborative work environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively and build and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of associates and management across the bank, and internal and external customers.
• Proven skills in complex, oral, written, and interpersonal communications, and negotiation; analysis of facts and circumstances. Strong financial analysis and decision-making skills.

Physical Exertion Details

Sedentary Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally (Occasionally: activity or condition exists up to 1/3 of the time) and/or a negligible amount of force frequently (Frequently: activity or condition exists from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Travel Requirement Details

Occasional Travel occurs infrequently (typically, once a month or less).

About CoBank

The typical base pay range for this role is between $214,400 - $289,400. Compensation may vary based on individual job-related knowledge, skills, expertise, and experience. This position is eligible for a discretionary annual incentive program driven by organization and individual performance. The listed salary, other compensation and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. This job will be posted for a minimum of five (5) business days or until the position is filled. CoBank reserves the right to adjust compensation for all positions and to modify or discontinue benefits programs at any time in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law.

CoBank is a cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 76,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country. CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

We are committed to ensuring that our online application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all applicants, including qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability, or are assisting an applicant with a disability, and require accessibility assistance or would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any aspect of the application process, including completing an application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please submit a request by emailing View email address on click.appcast.io. Include your contact information and specific details about your requested accommodation.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

CoBank is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.