Brian W. Smith, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP to Speak at KC’s Stress Testing for Community Banks in 2011 Live Webcast

New York, NY, January 28, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Brian W. Smith, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP will speak at a 2-hour webcast entitled “Stress Testing for Community Banks in 2011.” This event is scheduled for February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm ET.

About Brian W. Smith

Brian Smith is a partner in the Finance Department of Latham & Watkins’ Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Smith has more than 40 years experience in the financial services industry as a partner of an international law firm, as a senior federal bank regulator and as a senior corporate officer of a multinational financial services company. Mr. Smith’s work involves financial institutions regulation, corporate and securities transactions and, payments systems and electronic commerce.

Mr. Smith’s experience includes representation of banks and other financial services firms in transactional and regulatory matters, retail and institutional product development and distribution, electronic commerce, capital markets, asset management and fiduciary products. His clients include: US and foreign commercial banks, trust companies, investment banks, savings associations, private equity and other investment firms, insurance companies, mutual fund organizations, pension and benefit funds managers, domestic and foreign joint ventures and boards of directors of banking institutions.

About Latham & Watkins LLP

Latham & Watkins’ Financial Regulatory Group advises banks, securities firms, insurance companies and their parent holding companies and affiliates, as well as the increasing host of companies engaged in financial services across the globe, on the full range of financial regulations affecting their activities and operations.

The founders of Latham & Watkins instilled an ethic of hard work, commitment and quality that flourishes today and has nurtured the firm’s dramatic growth into one of the world’s premier business law firms.

Latham & Watkins is a global leader in corporate, bank and project finance, capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and complex business litigation.

For more information on Brian W. Smith, and Latham & Watkins LLP, please visit: http://www. www.lw.com

Event Synopsis:

While the financial meltdown was led by the large financial intuitions, community banks suffered mightily from its aftershocks. Community banks are increasingly turning to stress testing so that they can more comprehensively understand their risk & financial health to make it easier to anticipate future problems. While stress testing is a good tool for managing risk, some challenges have arisen such as: should the results be made public? What are the limitations of stress testing, and fears of potential reprisals by regulators to name just a few.

While some sanity and stability has returned to the markets, many risks remain. Your bank needs to be ahead of the curve by having the ability to anticipate risk not simply reacting to it. Stress testing can be an effective tool for this. The Knowledge Group has assembled a key panel of experts to help you make sense of stress testing as it applies to your bank. We’ll cover the good, the bad, and the critical points in between.

About The Knowledge Group, LLC/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series

The Knowledge Congress is a series of live webcasts produced by The Knowledge Group, LLC, which examine trends, regulatory, and technology changes across a variety of industries.

Visit www.knowledgecongress.org for further information and inquiry.

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