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Paula De Biase

Partner
Baker McKenzie Madrid S.L.P.

Biography

Paula De Biase leads the Financial Services Regulatory Department in the Madrid office.

With more than 15 years' experience in financial regulation, she has advised national and international clients in various areas of the financial services sector: payment services, fund management, investment services, consumer credit and other banking and insurance services, including Fintech initiatives and other online and mobile solutions.

Paula has taught Banking Law in the Master's programmes of several universities: the International Legal Consultancy degree at IE; the International Law, Foreign Trade and International Relations degree at ISDE; the Business Law degree at the Universidad de Navarra, and the Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship degree at INCARI/Rafael del Pino Foundation.

Practice Focus

Paula De Biase has extensive experience in advising national and international institutions regarding the authorisation, creation, marketing and regulatory compliance of products, entities or activities subject to financial supervision, including Fintech initiatives and new on-line or mobile products and solutions.

In addition, she has extensive experience in defining investment structures and advising on complex financial contracts, M&A transactions, and restructuring projects that involve financial regulatory issues.

Her main clients are fund managers, venture capitalists, banks, payment institutions, investment service companies, insurance companies, and other supervised entities.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Financial services regulatory advice in different payment institutions authorization files, including the first account information services (AIS) registration under PSD2 in Spain.
  • Regulatory advice in different change of control authorization processes with different regulators (management companies, payment institutions, financial establishments, etc).
  • Advice in the authorization and incorporation of an AIFM and a private equity fund (AIF) launched by a Spanish-listed Group (IBEX36).
  •  Advice in the full legal set-up of the Spanish consumer finance business of a leading Swedish bank.
  • Advice in different Brexit restructuring projects for UK investment firms, management companies and payment/e-money institutions, including the set up of Spanish branches and all actions necessary for the transfer of business.
  • Advice in the registration as mortgage credit intermediary with the Bank of Spain of a leading real estate international franchise Group.

Professional Honors

Ranked at Chambers Fintech and Best Lawyers

Professional Associations and Memberships

Madrid Bar Association - Member

Admissions

  • Madrid~Spain (2007)
  • Lisbon~Portugal (2006)
  • Sao Paulo~Brazil (2004)

Education

  • Comillas Pontifical University (ICADE) (Master in Business Law) (2007)
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Post Graduate in Contract Law) (2006)
  • Federal University of Pernambuco (Law Degree) (2004)

Languages

  • English
  • German
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish

Publications

  • “La Nueva Propuesta de Regulación Europea para el Crowdfunding”, Anuario de Derecho Mercantil (Pendiente publicación CONFIRMAR)
  • “Medios de Pago: A quien afecta la prórroga de la EBA”, El Economista (January 2020)
  • “Nuevo régimen sandbox: ¿quedan flecos por cerrar?, Fundspeople (October 2018)
  • “Realizar pagos en 10 segundos a nivel europeo ya es una realidad”, El Confidencial (May 2018) 
  • “Hacia un nuevo sistema de pagos instantáneos”, Blog Fide (May 2018)

Firm Committee Memberships

Financial Institutions Group