Renate Prinz provides comprehensive advice on banking supervisory law, corporate law, and M&A, on compliance matters, and across all areas of financial and financial services regulation—including the regulation of investment firms. Prior to joining Annerton, Renate spent many years at international law firms working in Corporate, M&A, and Financial Regulatory. She advises banks—both in the private and public sectors, including state banks and institutions under public law—as well as financial services providers and other regulated entities, for example under the KWG, WpIG, ZAG, or MiCAR.
Her experience particularly includes supporting complex transformation projects and M&A transactions, advising on licensing and qualifying holdings procedures before BaFin and the ECB, fundamental regulatory issues, as well as topics such as Brexit and deposit guarantee schemes. Clients value her ability to understand regulatory requirements not merely as compliance obligations, but as a malleable element of their business strategy.
Renate publishes regularly in professional journals on regulatory and corporate law topics. She is also an author of the Crypto-Assets Commentary (Kalss / Krönke / Völkel) published by Beck, contributing on MiCA regulation (licensing procedures for crypto-asset service providers). She was nominated in the Financial Regulatory category for the Women in Business Law Awards in 2023 and 2025; in 2024, she was additionally honored as “Woman of the Year” by Beyond Gender Agenda.
Vita
- Since 02/2026: Partner, Annerton Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Frankfurt am Main
- 2019–2026: Partner in the Banking and Financial Regulatory and Corporate, M&A practice, McDermott, Will & Schulte, Köln / Düsseldorf
- 2012–2019: Managing Associate in Financial Regulatory and Corporate, M&A, Linklaters LLP, Düsseldorf / Frankfurt
- 2010–2012: Cologne Higher Regional Court (OLG Köln), Legal Traineeship (placements at Linklaters LLP, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs)
- 2009–2010: Research Assistant, Linklaters LLP, Corporate M&A (Düsseldorf / London)
- 2004–2009: University of Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms University), Law studies, specialized foreign language training, legal French
Expertise
- Banking Supervisory Law
- Corporate Law
- M&A (Private)
- Regulatory Compliance and Governance
- Regulation of Crypto-Asset Service Providers
- Supervision of Investment Firms
- Payments Regulation
- Outsourcing / DORA
Publications
(Excerpt)
- Ausblick Finanzmarktregulierung; Interview with Annette Messemer zu Aufsichtsräten im regulierten Sektor and editorial (Outlook on Financial Market Regulation; interview with Annette Messemer on supervisory boards in the regulated sector and editorial), in: BOARD – Zeitschrift für Aufsichtsräte, 12/2025
- DORA und NIS2 in der Praxis: Erste Erfahrungen, neue Aufsicht und offene Fragen im Finanzsektor (DORA and NIS2 in Practice: Initial Experiences, New Supervisory Structures, and Open Questions in the Financial Sector), BKR – Zeitschrift für Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht, Heft 11/2025 (Co-Autorin: Dr. Natallia Karniyevich).
- EU-Spar- und Investitionsunion: Whatever it takes? (EU Savings and Investment Union: Whatever It Takes?), Versicherungsmonitor, 17. April 2025 (Co-Autor: Cornelius Hille).
- Outlook on Financial Regulations and Supervisory Practice in Germany and the EU, Finextra, April 2025.
- Comment, in: Kalss / Krönke / Völkel, Crypto-Assets, C.H.BECK Verlag, 1st ed. 2025, Arts. 59 et seq. (Erlaubnisverfahren und Verhaltenspflichten von Kryptowertedienstleistern (licensing procedures and conduct obligations of crypto-asset service providers))
- DORA lässt Haftungsrisiken in der Finanzbranche steigen (DORA Increases Liability Risks in the Financial Industry), Springer Professional, 19. Dezember 2024.
- Stabilität durch Regulierung (Stability Through Regulation), Börsen-Zeitung, 15. Mai 2023.
- EU schafft einheitliche Regelung für die Kryptoindustrie (EU Creates a Uniform Regulatory Framework for the Crypto Industry), FOCUS online (Gastbeitrag), 21. Juli 2022.
- Schluss mit der Altherrenrunde im Hinterzimmer – Professionalisierung des Aufsichtsrats (An End to the Old Boys’ Club in the Back Room – Professionalising the Supervisory Board), Boardreport, April 2022.