As the global credit crunch threatens to tip some U.S. banks over the edge, potential acquirers are looking into how regulators have dealt with any bank failures in the past, according to a recent memo from the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

“There appears to be a widespread perception of meaningful risk of an acceleration in financial institution failures,” the firm’s lawyers wrote in a memo. “At the moment, it is difficult to predict the extent to which we will see bank failures in the near-term.”

Still, any failures could present buying opportunities after the regulators have moved in and sorted through the mess.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which insures deposits at more than 8,000 U.S. banks and thrifts and oversees the soundness of the institutions, has in the past held auctions of failed institutions, the lawyers said.

Sometimes to encourage buyers, the agency has also entered into loss-sharing agreements, where the FDIC “agrees to bear much of the further credit loss associated with the failed bank’s assets.”

However, the law firm said the crisis this time around is somewhat different from those in the past. Private equity, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds have stepped up with cash for financial institutions looking to raise money. Recent examples: private equity firms were part of capital raises by Washington Mutual and National City.

And regulators are taking notice.

“This can be expected to translate into a more receptive regulatory climate for private investments into banks and thrifts,” the lawyers wrote.