Luigi Spada

As Of Counsel in our Finance & Financial Regulation Group in Milan, I have significant experience working with banks, investment and insurance companies, and in brokers' regulation, where I am an expert in the field.

Before joining the team at Bird & Bird in 2012, I worked for CONSOB, the Italian Financial Services Authority, for 18 years. I led the Intermediaries Supervision and Register Office from 2007 where I was responsible for authorising Italian investment companies, as well as the regulatory and enforcement activities – including conduct and transparency rules – for investment services delivered by banks and investment companies.

Using my vast experience, I assist banks and financial intermediaries in identifying, in light of regulation, the best strategic, procedural and operational solutions linked to the provision of investment services. When possible I stick to an approach that is open to market and business dynamics; and I am able to seize the opportunities related to the evolution of the rules.

I also support clients in their relationships with the Supervisory Authorities in relation to sanction proceedings.

Over the years, I have written a number of articles and publications, including: "Limiti di applicabilità alle Sim degli artt. 5 e 5-bis della l. 216/1974", Giurisprudenza Commerciale, 1992; "Decorrenza dei termini per le azioni revocatorie in caso di dichiarazioni di fallimento consecutivo a concordato preventivo o ad amministrazione controllata", Banca Borsa e Titoli di credito, 1994; 'La crisi delle Sim di fatto', Giurisprudenza Commerciale, 1999; "Orientamenti in tema di intermediari e promotori finanziari", Foro Italiano, 2001; "Intermediari e promotori finanziari", Torino, 2005 (of which I am co-author), "Il collocamento", L'attuazione della MiFID in Italia, Bologna, 2010 and 'Certificati di deposito: riconducibilità al TUF o al TUB?', Giurisprudenza Commerciale, 2013.

• I supported some of the main Italian banks in the identification of the challenges and opportunities for their business in relation to the evolution of regulations (in particular MiFID II, IDD).
• I have also helped clients in the development of more coherent solutions with particular regard to sets of rules innovated by regulation (product governance, inducements, ex ante and ex post transparency of costs, suitability for equivalent instruments, cost-benefit analysis for investment switch).
• I have also helped various operators to identify the weaknesses of their mechanisms used to get to know customers and supported them in the preparation of more consistent 'profiling questionnaires' and especially in the enhancement of assessment information about the customer.
• I have followed many enforcement proceedings opened by the Supervisory Authorities against financial intermediaries, identifying innovative solutions and opposing arguments and reaching, in several cases, the filing of charges already in the administrative phase.