Dr. Conrad Ruppel LL.M.
Biography
Dr. Conrad Ruppel is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Banking & Finance Practice Group and leads the Financial Services Regulation (FSR) Group in Germany. He also sits in the Global FSR & Blockchain Steering Committees of the Firm.
Conrad’s practice covers advising global investment banks, financial institutions, payments services providers, crypto-asset service provider (CASPs), financial market infrastructures as well as fund managers and institutional investors on a wide range of cross-border financial regulatory issues throughout the business lifecycle, including M&A transactions, disputes and complex regulatory change projects. A focus of Conrad's work is on laws on new technologies (DLT/AI), FinTech & Digital Assets.
Conrad gained work experience at Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and Morgan Stanley Bank AG in Frankfurt and London during his client secondments. He is individually ranked in Chambers FinTech 2026, and recognized by clients as being “very commercially minded and business-oriented”, “extremely technical and very thorough”, and “a great guy to have in your corner”.
He is a university lecturer at the ILF (Institute for Law and Finance) at the Goethe University Frankfurt and at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences. He has authored a number of articles and contributions for leading journals and other publications.
Conrad is a reserve officer in the German Navy (lieutenant commander) and served in NATO missions during active duty.
Practice Focus
Conrad’s practice is specialized on all fields of banking regulation, investment and payment services law with a focus on FinTech, Digital Assets, Blockchain/DLT, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The practice includes complex licensing and outsourcing projects as well as issues around IT risks/DORA, governance, private & public M&A transactions, sustainability/ESG, as well as advising on anti-money laundering law (AML).
He also assists clients with regulatory litigation & investigation matters, for example in the context of administrative proceedings, cyber-incident reporting and audits with national and European supervisory authorities, e.g. ESMA, ECB and BaFin/Bundesbank.
Representative Legal Matters
Transactional Matters, including private/public M&A, shareholder control procedures (Inhaberkontrollverfahren)
- Advised tradias GmbH on its merger with Boerse Stuttgart Digital Holding GmbH, establishing a leading European digital assets platform.
- Advised Lyft Inc. on the acquisition of the mobility platform FREENOW from BMW and Mercedes-Benz for EUR 175 million through a competitive auction process.
- Advised a consortium of investors led by Junction Growth Investors, Korys and BNP Paribas (via its Solar Impulse Venture Fund) in connection with the financing of flexibility marketer and battery optimizer Entrix.
- Advised Knorr-Bremse on the acquisition of the Dutch company TRAVIS Road Services International B.V. (TRAVIS), a leading online booking platform for road services for commercial vehicle operations.
- Advised US investment bank on the establishment of a Joint-Venture with a large German car manufacturer (OEM) in relation to a Mobile Payments Business.
- Advised an US private equity (PE) fund on the acquisition of German Credit Services Institution (Kreditzweitmarktgesetz).
- Advised an US bank holding company on the acquisition of an US FinTech with significant business in Germany and the EU.
- Advised a leading French bank on its planned acquisition of a German leasing group.
- Advised Deutsche Börse AG on the acquisition of a majority stake in Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS).*
Financial Regulatory Advisory
Digital Assets & Crypto
- Advised a global US investment bank on tokenized deposits on a DLT-based payment platform.
- Advised Goldman Sachs on the development and implementation of the Digital Assets Platform (GS DAP™).*
- Advised a global US investment bank on assuming the role as reserve bank (custodian) under MiCAR.
- Regulatory advice to a German bank on the classification of structured products as a financial instrument (derivative) or crypto-asset / stablecoin under MiCAR.
- Advised German banks on (tokenized) covered bonds (Pfandbriefe) and covered eligibility of tokenized securities under German law.
- Cross-border advice to a major US investment bank on the marketing of structured products, including digital global depositary receipt (GDR).
- Advised a German DLT infrastructure provider against the background of a cooperation with a global US investment bank in the area of DvP (Delivery versus Payment), e.g. for securities transactions.
- Advised a leading global digital assets platform on the regulatory structuring of a MiCAR-compliant market entry and strategic partnership with German regulated entities, covering crypto trading, lending, outsourcing, customer terms, AML and cross-border financial regulatory requirements.
Payments Services
- Advised global booking platform on complex, cross-border regulatory change project under PSD3/PSR.
- Regulatory advice to a global US investment bank on innovative payment solutions with a FinTech in the area of payment initiation services (PIS), account information services (AIS), including Germany and a further EU and non-EU jurisdictions.
- Advised a global US investment bank on the regulatory treatment of cross-border payment services (Germany, Luxembourg) as well as contract law advice.
- Advised a German FinTech on the regulatory framework for a pan-European Merchant-of-Record (MoR) model, including payment services, licensing and cross-border regulatory considerations across multiple jurisdictions.
- Advised a Brazilian payment platform on the regulatory treatment of cross-border payment and settlement flows under PSD2, including money remittance, territorial scope and licensing questions in Germany, the Netherlands and at EU level.
- Advised an online car auction platform on the application of the German Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG) and PSD2 to online marketplace and auction payment flows, including money remittance and chain-of-contract structures.
- Advised German premium car manufacturers on financial regulatory aspects of business models and products, including credit cards, e-money, payments services.
DORA
- Advised global ICT infrastructure providers and regulated EU financial institutions on DORA implications arising from a major ICT/cyber-incident, including classification, threshold analysis and supervisory notification strategy.
- Advised a global technology provider on the implementation and negotiation of DORA-compliant ICT outsourcing and subcontracting arrangements.
- Advised a global banking group on DORA governance, ICT service classification and intra-group ICT arrangements.
- Advised a leading Critical ICT Third-Party Provider (CTPP) on DORA supervisory oversight, fees and regulatory engagement.
- Advised a global software provider on DORA contractual compliance and ICT outsourcing arrangements with regulated financial institutions.
Banking & Prudential Regulation
- Advised on the impact of CRD VI on cross-border banking business by non-EU and Swiss lenders, including licensing & exemptions requirements, market access restrictions, borrower solicitation, syndicated lending structures and enforcement activities across EU jurisdictions.
- Advised on complex outsourcing structures of global banks, including intra-group and third party outsourcing on a global scale.
- Leading analysis on regulatory treatment of non-bank lenders and debt funds under CRD VI, including cross-border lending into the EU and interaction between debt funds and banking regulation.
- Advised global US investment banks on CRD/CRR/KWG and SSM-Regulations in the context of governance, board composition, exchanges with ECB / JST, corporate reorganisations, including Brexit / CRDVI related advice.
- Advised on the scope and application of the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation (CRA Regulation).
Asset Management / Investment Funds
- Advised a North American fund manager on the distribution strategy of a North American fund provider, including BaFin authorisation.
- Advised several German fund managers and German institutional investors (incl. pension schemes (Versorgungswerkte), insurance companies) on eligibility of investment funds under local investor regulation, e.g. investment ordinance (Anlaverordnung), German insurance supervisory law (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz).
- Ongoing advice to German, EU and global fund managers on AIFM/UCITSD/KAGB issues.
- Ongoing advice to a UK hedge fund on marketing authorisations.
- Advised a global fund manager on Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) structures.
- Advised a major German asset manager in connection with the structuring of fund investments abroad.
- Advises on private credit, debt funds, direct lending and fund finance, with a particular focus on AIFMD II, loan origination funds, cross-border lending and regulatory structuring.
AML / Compliance / Litigation
- Advised a German-based global insurance and asset management group on anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulatory change projects, including AML risk assessments, group-wide AML standards, governance arrangements and the impact of new EU and US AML requirements in multiple jurisdictions.
- Advised a German bank on anti-money laundering (AML) issues in connection with preventive measures and due diligence obligations.
- Advised global corporation on AML/KYC obligations arising from global direct-to-customer billing and financing structures, including customer due diligence requirements, sales financing models, payment services implications and multijurisdictional AML compliance considerations
- Advised a leading Asian and Spanish financial institution on complex supervisory investigation matters involving its German locations, including BaFin investigations, administrative enforcement proceedings, regulatory reporting deficiencies, remediation measures, governance enhancements and strategic engagement with BaFin.
- Advised a leading global digital assets platform on the defence of multiple German litigation claims arising from alleged investment fraud schemes, including regulatory liability, licensing requirements under German financial services law, director liability and damages claims brought before German courts.
*Projects handled at previous firm.
Professional Honors
Chambers FinTech Legal, Germany, 2026, Recognition, Client Citations:
- “Conrad Ruppel is very commercially minded and business-oriented. He is super thorough and technical in his insights, and is a great guy to have in your corner.”
- “Conrad is extremely technical and very thorough.”
- “Conrad Ruppel has a very good set of expertise, especially on the crypto side.”
Admissions
- Germany (2014)
Education
- University of St. Gallen (Certificate in Law & Management) (2021)
- University of Bern (Dr. iur., summa cum laude) (2021)
- University of Bayreuth (First Legal State Examination) (2011)
- University of Waikato (LL.M.) (2009)
Languages
- German
- English
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern is registered with the Local Court of Frankfurt/Main (registered seat) HRB 123975. It is associated with Baker & McKenzie International, a Verein organized under the laws of Switzerland.