Jolina Cuaresma is Counsel in the Washington DC office of White & Case LLP, and a member of the Firm's Financial Institutions Advisory group. Jolina combines her extensive rulemaking, supervisory, and enforcement experience along with her business background to counsel financial institutions in navigating through the complex US and global regulatory environment.
Jolina's practice focuses on nonbank and bank advisory matters, with a particular focus on advising clients on consumer financial services issues, including guiding clients through the lifecycle of government examinations, investigations and enforcement actions; developing robust compliance management systems unique to each client's business model; identifying business opportunities; and conducting risk assessments. Jolina advises financial institutions such as domestic and international banks, student loan servicers, auto financing companies, and first party and third party debt collectors; industry trade associations; and service providers.
Previously, Jolina was at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). She joined at its infancy and served in a number of offices, obtaining a broad range of experience in the Office of Regulations, Office of Consumer Response, and Office of Supervision Policy. During her time at the CFPB, Jolina's areas of responsibility included building out the nation’s first federal nonbank supervision program, one of the central new authorities Congress granted CFPB under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act. Jolina had a significant role in drafting regulations giving the CFPB jurisdiction to supervise student loan servicers and auto financing companies as well as drafting sections of the CFPB's examination manual. Additionally, Jolina advised on the appropriate resolution of exam findings. She counselled examination staff and senior management on consumer financial protection statutes, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Further, Jolina provided guidance to industry stakeholders on aspects of the Truth in Lending Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Jolina was also closely involved in CFPB's ongoing rulemaking regarding debt collection, advising leadership on the CFPB's scope of rulemaking authority.
Prior to joining CFPB, Jolina was a Counsel in the Enforcement Division at Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and, previously, a Senior Associate in the Securities Enforcement and Litigation Group in the Washington, DC office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP. She clerked for Chief Judge Benson Everett Legg in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Before attending law school, Jolina graduated from GE’s Financial Management Program with Corporate Honors and earned a Green Belt certification in Six Sigma.
