Bio

Patricia Hernandez is a founding partner of AVILA, serves as the firm’s Managing Partner, and is one of the leaders in the Banking & Financial Services practice, as well as the Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions department. Ms. Hernandez has decades of experience representing domestic and international banks and other financial institutions, money services businesses and lending companies in all aspects of regulatory, compliance, lending, and transactional matters. She regularly represents clients before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and several other regulatory agencies. She often assists banks in negotiating and complying with enforcement actions. More recently, Ms. Hernandez has been advising banks, financial technology (fintech) companies and regulatory technology (regtech) companies in all aspects of engaging in business together (BaaS, third party risk management, vendor management, etc.) She also represents fintechs and regtechs with licensing requirements and internal risk management matters, as well as government enforcement actions and other regulatory matters. She also counsels U.S. and foreign clients on the effects of OFAC regulations concerning Venezuela, Cuba, and other sanctioned parties. Ms. Hernandez has specialized knowledge in lending transactions, including asset-backed, trade-finance, factoring, and SBA financing. She has exceptional experience in corporate matters, including acquisitions, corporate formation, and review and preparation of contracts for all types of transactions. She regularly counsels foreign businesses who wish to launch their products and services in the U.S. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, and a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Miami. Ms. Hernandez currently serves on the Board of the Financial & International Business Association (FIBA), and previously served as its General Counsel. She is also a Board Member and Past President of the South Florida Banking Institute (SFBI), and a member of the Florida Association of Managing Partners. She is fluent in English and Spanish.