Mena Bellofiore > Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP > Toronto, Canada > Lawyer Profile

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Offices

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
199 BAY STREET
SUITE 4000, COMMERCE COURT WEST
TORONTO, ONTARIO M5L 1A9
Canada
Visit website 1 416 863 2400 1 416 863 2653

Mena Bellofiore

Mena Bellofiore photo
416-863-3858 mena.bellofiore@blakes.com View profile

Work Department

Financial Services

Position

Mena’s practice spans all aspects of regulatory compliance in the retail financial services and payments industry at both the federal and provincial level, with a particular focus on consumer protection issues relating to financial services and products and the application of these laws in the online environment.

Mena regularly advises financial entities and a wide variety of other regulated and unregulated financial service providers and participants in the payments card industry, including prepaid card issuers and distributors as well as fintechs, on various aspects of their business. Mena has extensive experience in developing and improving compliance programs, including internal policies and procedures, and in drafting and reviewing standard form contacts, related disclosures and other documentation. Mena works with both domestic and international clients. She has developed an expertise in legislative compliance areas that affect her clients and specializes in a wide range of regulatory issues, including federal financial institutions legislation and guidelines, payment systems legislation, AML and Canadian sanctions laws, rules affecting payment card networks, cost of borrowing legislation, provincial regulation of consumer contracts, requirements under credit reporting and debt collection legislation, payday lending legislation, mortgage broker legislation, loan broker legislation and e-commerce matters, as well as legislation affecting both commercial and consumer lenders.

Over the course of her career in the financial services regulatory group at Blakes, Mena has been seconded to four different financial institutions, including two of the largest banks in Canada. During this time, Mena gained invaluable in-house experience as she worked closely with in-house counsel and directly advised the businesses on regulatory compliance matters, including in connection with the development and launch of credit products.

Lawyer Rankings

Canada > Banking and finance

A destination practice for banking and finance, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP stands out for its premier firepower in both the regulatory and transactional spheres. In terms of the former, Paul Belanger is widely acknowledged as a market leader; he recently paired up with Vladimir Shatiryan to advise Royal Bank of Canada on the regulatory aspects of its C$13.5bn acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada — the deal, which was also co-led by specialists in the corporate and dispute resolution practices, additionally highlights the team’s enviable ability to link up with practices from across the full-service firm to resource large-scale matters. Other key names on the regulatory front include Jacqueline Shinfield, Bonny Murray and newly promoted partner Mena Bellofiore. Michael Matheson is a go-to name for corporate and commercial finance transactions; he advised Toronto-Dominion Bank/TD Securities and Bank of Nova Scotia (as co-lead arrangers and underwriters) on C$1bn in senior secured revolving credit facilities and back-stop facilities to support GIC and Dream Industrial REIT’s acquisition of Summit Industrial Income REIT. Other recommended transactional specialists include Simon Finch, who focuses on private debt transactions; and Calgary-based partners Michael McIntosh KC and Nick Tropak. Michael Harquail recently retired. Named lawyers are based in Toronto unless otherwise stated. Partner Mary Jeanne Phelan joined the firm’s Montreal office from McCarthy Tétrault in October 2023.

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