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Ricardo Plasencia

Partner

Contact
CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo
Paseo de Recoletos 7–9
28004 Madrid
Spain
Languages Spanish, English

Ricardo Plasencia is a Partner of the Banking & Finance at CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo, in charge of Financial Regulation. 

He advises domestic and international clients from a non-litigious perspective (advising on contractual matters and regulatory compliance, regulatory affairs and permits - gaining licences, takeovers - opening and closing branch offices for overseas entities, etc), as well as from a pre-litigation and litigious perspective (requests for information and sanctioning proceedings initiated by supervisors). His expertise includes advising on all issues relating to banking regulation, banking resolution, investment services and investment firms, collective investment matters, payment services, derivatives, central securities depositories and central counterparty clearing houses, securities markets (transparency, market abuse, short selling, registration, clearing and settlement of securities), consumer credit and corporate governance. 

He also has wide experience in Fintech and has been ranked by Chambers & Partners among the leading lawyers in Spain advising on these matters.

Prior to joining CMS, he worked at several prestigious international law firms, one of the big four consulting firms, as well as at the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). 

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“A diligent, thoughtful and creative lawyer”.

Chambers FinTech

Relevant experience

  • Banking entity in Andorra | Advice on different regulatory matters that affect private banking in Spanish and other jurisdictions. 
  • Investment banking subsidiary of a British bank | Advice concerning the opening and closing of branch offices in Spain and legal and regulatory matters. 
  • Irish banking group | Advice with regards to opening a branch in Spain and on legal and regulatory matters. 
  • Leading commercial retail bank | Ongoing advice on legal and regulatory matters to the main digital bank in Spain. 
  • Main derivatives broker in Spain | Ongoing advice on legal and regulatory matters.
  • Private Swiss bank | Advice concerning cross border regulatory matters related to the entity's private banking activity.
  • Top Spanish bank | Advice relating to the distribution and sale of funds in different countries within the European Union. 
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Publications

  • He regularly writes articles on financial regulation for general media and specialised publications.
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Lectures list

  • Ricardo teaches securities and markets to students following the Master's Degree in Regulated Sectors at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid.
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Education

  • 2006 - Degree in Political Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid (Spain).
  • 2000 - Degree in Business Management, Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICADE, Madrid (Spain).
  • 1999 - Graduate of Law, Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICADE, Madrid (Spain).
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Feed

25/04/2024
Spain: Parliamentary proceedings begin to create the Independent Ad­min­is­trat­ive...
On April 5, the draft law for the creation of the Financial Customer Defence Authority was published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament.1. INTRODUCTIONThe current text being processed includes...
24/04/2024
Parliamentary proceedings begin to create the Independent Ad­min­is­trat­ive...
On April 5, the draft law for the creation of the Financial Customer Defence Authority was published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament.1. INTRODUCTIONThe current text being processed includes...
23/04/2024
Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA): Impact on the funds sector
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a transformative force in the funds sector, reshaping the relationships between financial entities, financial markets and ICT providers to achieve greater digital resilience. 2024 stands as a pivotal year for DORA’s implementation since the Act will come into effect in January 2025. Our CMS Funds experts are sharing insights on the challenges and key components of this transformation in our upcoming video series, covering the following key components:
16/04/2024
Cross-border Financial Services 2024 webinar series
We're delighted to announce the launch of our third season of international webinars focusing on financial regulation, starting on 13 March 2024. Whether you are an in-house lawyer, compliance officer, financial analyst, risk manager, or any other professional concerned with maintaining the integrity of your organisation's financial practices, this series offers succinct 20-30 minute overviews of key industry trends and regulatory concerns across mul­tiple jur­is­dic­tions. If you have any additional topics that you would like us to add or address at one of the webinars, please contact us. Upcoming Webinars: 16 April: Handling a regulatory in­vest­ig­a­tion  How a firm can understand the regulator’s concerns and manage the investigation process.8 May: Financial crime  Sanc­tions, money laundering, market abuse and fraud - what are the key issues in your jurisdiction and what are the regulators focusing on.5 June: Preparing for a regulatory visit  How the banking regulator assesses a firm’s systems and controls: what to prepare and what to look out for.3 July: Handling a challenging ap­plic­a­tion  Your application for a licence, product approval or change in control is meeting with regulatory resistance.  How can you surmount these challenges?31 July: Dawn Raids  Un­an­nounced regulator visits are on the increase.  We look at what triggers a dawn raid, your rights if one happens, and how best to manage the consequences.4 September: Navigating the global ESG land­scape Is the regulatory reporting jigsaw puzzle causing more harm than good? We will provide an overview of the main cross-border issues impacting global financial institutions as they seek to manage ever expanding ESG regulations and discuss whether these rules are helping or hindering the action we need for change. The language of the webinar will be English.
04/03/2024
Popular investment vehicles in Spain
Updated on December 2023 Investment vehicle Sociedad Anónima Cotizada de Inversión en el Mercado Inmobiliario (SOCIMI) So­ciedad Anónima (SA)Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL or SL) 1. Form...
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07/02/2024
CMS Expert Guide to Crypto Regulation in Spain
Disclaimer: This chapter was last updated on 5 September 2023 and does not reflect any subsequent developments. The information provided is intended for general informational purposes and should not be...
Comparable
02/02/2024
DORA obligations apply to different payment operators and processors in...
Royal Decree-Law 8/2023 applies certain obligations of DORA Regulation to payment system operators, payment scheme operators, electronic payment arrangement operators, payment processors and other technological...
01/02/2024
DORA obligations apply to different payment operators and processors in...
Royal Decree-Law 8/2023 applies certain obligations of DORA Regulation to payment system operators, payment scheme operators, electronic payment arrangement operators, payment processors and other technological...
05/01/2024
Private placement rules and law in Spain
1. Summary of private placement provisions for fund interests (if applicable) Spanish law distinguishes between open-ended or closed-ended collective investment institutions (“OECII” and “CECII”...
05/01/2024
AIFM passporting in Spain
The AIFMD was transposed mainly into Spanish law by means of Law 22/2014 of 12 November on venture capital entities, other closed ended collective investment schemes and their management companies (“LEC­ROSI”)...
02/01/2024
Tackling the misuse of crypto-assets for ML-TF purposes
02.01.2024
29/12/2023
Tackling the misuse of crypto-assets for ML-TF purposes
As a constantly evolving sector, the crypto-assets ecosystem presents continuous challenges, particularly in terms of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML-TF) risks.To tackle the misuse of crypto-assets...