Michael Huertas

Head of Financial Institutions Regulatory Europe at PwC

Speaker

Dr. Michael Huertas LL.M., MBA, is a Partner with PwC Legal. As Practice Group Leader for Bank, Insurance and investment Law as well as the Head of Financial Institutions Regulatory Europe (FIRE) Team at PwC Legal he leads a group of multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictionally qualified and multilingual professionals who help clients navigate and realise the opportunities in the EU-27 – and notably the Eurozone’s regulatory, supervisory and monetary policy framework. Michael specifically advises on the Eurozone's Banking Union, the European Central Bank’s monetary policy activity and the EU’s Capital Markets Union workstreams along with the regulatory and supervisory priorities of the European Supervisory Authorities. Michael is also a member of PwC Legal and PwC’s Capital Markets Leadership Team.

His structured finance practice focuses on derivatives, securities financing transactions and securitisations. Michael also has experience advising on conduct of business and governance arrangements (in particular, the managing of NPLs and non-performing assets) and financial market infrastructure, collateral and custody arrangements. His FinTech regulatory practice focuses on helping clients prepare for EU-level and national-level reforms as a result of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regulation (ECSPR) and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) as well as more generally questions relating to blockchain-based business models, DeFi, crypto-custody as well as FinTech providers and digital banks looking to enter or expand in the European Union.

Michael is admitted as Solicitor-Advocate (England & Wales), Solicitor (Northern Ireland), Solicitor (Ireland) and as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt). Best Lawyers, 2020 and 2021 recommends Michael for his Regulatory Practice.