Community Banking Lawyer 'Stormy' Greef Dies at 66

Charles "Stormy" Greef, a partner with Hunton & Williams' financial institutions team, died March 10. He was 66.

Greef, along with Peter Weinstock, most recently led Hunton & Williams' community banking practice. Throughout his career, he helped guide acquisitions of both healthy and troubled banks as well as branch sales.

"He was a lawyer's lawyer — a true intellect, but yet able to explain the most complicated issues and make them understandable," Weinstock said in a tribute the firm released following Greef's death. "He was the most creative lawyer I have ever met. Mostly, he was a friend and a true partner."

Greef was also involved in the formation of de novo banks and thrifts, including the first "shelf charter" approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in November 2008. Such institutions allowed private equity and other investment vehicles a way to acquire failed banks.

At the start of his career, Greef joined Hunton & Williams for a year after he graduated from law school at the University of Texas. He returned to the firm in 2007 when the "Longhorn Group" was hired from Texas firm Jenkens & Gilchrist following that firm's demise. He was with Jenkens for 32 years.

Born in Amarillo, Texas, during a major blizzard in 1949 — which gave Greef his nickname – he received his undergraduate degree from Yale University. He is survived by his wife, Holly; his children, Brennan and David; and four grandchildren.

Throughout his career, Greef was honored by the banking community for his contributions. The only lawyer to be inducted into the Independent Bankers Association of Texas Hall of Fame, he was a regular speaker at the Independent Community Bankers of America's annual convention, according to the tribute. A memorial scholarship in his name is being established at the University of Texas School of Law.

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