Education
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University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1990
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Colorado College, B.A., 1985
Bar Admissions
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Eric Foster counsels banks, broker-dealers, and other participants in the securities, foreign exchange, and derivatives markets on various types of corporate finance transactions as well as compliance, government policy risk assessment, and general legal risk management issues. He has considerable experience providing strategic advice to financial institutions on the legal, operational, and public policy implications of their activities around the globe.
For his clients, Mr. Foster brings his extensive experience representing broad industry groups and helping financial institutions anticipate and respond creatively and proactively to changes in applicable laws and regulatory regimes as well as market crises and specific investigations. Having represented both the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the U.S. Primary Dealers in Treasury securities in Washington, D.C., as well as the larger dealer community in New York, London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, he has a unique understanding of the complex issues facing broker-dealers, investment companies, banks, sovereigns, savings institutions, credit unions, and insurance companies seeking to operate effectively in the world’s leading financial centers.
Mr. Foster has also been closely involved most of the critical fixed-income initiatives undertaken by Wall Street over the last 10 years, including:
- Participation in the private-sector Working Group on Government Securities Clearance and Settlement formed by the Federal Reserve Board following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to identify and mitigate operational and systemic risk in U.S. government securities market;
- Drafting of The Bond Market Association’s 2004 Guiding Principles to Promote the Integrity of Fixed Income Research;
- Securing the endorsement of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and Congressional passage of the Financial Contracts Netting Improvement Act of 2006;
- Representing the industry in its efforts to rationalize the treatment under the Basel II Capital Accord of exposures arising from financial contracts entered into under TBMA/ISMA Global Master Repurchase Agreement (2000 version), the TBMA Cross Product Master Netting Agreement (CPMA), and the Cross Product Master Netting Agreement, Cross Affiliate Version 2; and
- Helping lead the industry’s 2004 trading practices initiative in the GSE European callable securities market and the industry’s agent/principle lender disclosure initiative impacting the securities lending markets.
Before joining Patton Boggs, Mr. Foster was a resident of Hong Kong, where he served as Executive Director of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), an industry forum committed to promoting the development of Asia’s debt capital markets and their orderly integration into the global financial system. While in Hong Kong, Mr. Foster worked with the leading financial services firms in Asia in an effort to harmonize the region’s regulatory regimes and enhance the size, liquidity, integrity, and transparency of local markets for debt securities and other financial instruments.
Mr. Foster was seconded to ASIFMA by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), where he had served as an Associate General Counsel for the organization and its predecessor, The Bond Market Association (TBMA). At TBMA, he was chief advisor to both its Government & Federal Agency Securities Division and its Funding Division. While later serving as Managing Staff Advisor for Global Rates & Funding at TBMA, he was also involved in the industry’s formation in London of the European Primary Dealers Association.
Previously, Mr. Foster was a counsel in the Legal Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), where he served as Secretary to the Financial Markets Lawyers Group and focused on supervisory issues relating to foreign exchange trading, exchange traded financial futures, and the regulation of banks and their over-the-counter derivatives transactions. While at FRBNY, Mr. Foster also served as the Bank’s Chief Legislative Advisor from 1995-2000.
Mr. Foster is a frequent public speaker at international conferences on the debt capital markets and has contributed to various publications devoted to the regulatory treatment of securities, futures and OTC derivatives. He is also an Adjunct Professor and On-Site Director of the University at Buffalo New York City Program in International Finance and Law.
Representative Matters:
- Helped lead the industry’s efforts (in coordination with FICC, Bank of New York, JPM Chase, the SEC, and the U.S. Treasury) to reopen the U.S. government securities market immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, organizing and co-hosting various critical industry conference calls in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
- Facilitated the industry’s response in 2003-2004 to regulatory inquiries regarding a significant increase in “fails” in the U.S. government securities market.
- Assisted in drafting the 1998 President’s Working Group Report on Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) as it pertained to netting and close-out of OTC financial contracts and the likely treatment of financial contracts in cross-border and ancillary proceeding under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
- Represented the U.S. Primary Dealer community on its response to regulatory, tax, and other reforms proposed by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the Department of Labor.
- Worked extensively with regulators to put rules and regulations in place that both protected fixed-income investors and preserved transparency, efficiency, and liquidity in the OTC bond markets.
Professional Affiliations:
American Bar Association
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Asia Society
China Institute of New York
Global Association of Risk Professionals
National Association of Bond Lawyers
The Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee
The Bond Club of New York
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