Who looks forward to making a will? Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, major financial institutions don't have a choice. They're required to pen "living wills" detailing assets and liabilities and how the bank would protect or unwind those assets in the event of a financial crisis. But where some might see a compliance challenge in writing these plans, Abdi Shayesteh, deputy general counsel for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., sees a golden opportunity. "It's a great exercise to look inward, starting with the legal department," he says.
Shayesteh first became interested in financial systems and regulations when his college savings evaporated in a bank scandal. The episode also sparked his deep interest in entrepreneurialism, as he started a T-shirt company to finance his college education. Since then, Shayesteh has worked as the general counsel of a start-up Internet mortgage company, as a regulatory specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and as an attorney at King & Spalding. He's now part of his company's Dodd-Frank leadership team. Reporter Catherine Dunn spoke to him; an edited version of their conversation follows.
