María Cristina Salas-Díaz is a banking and financial regulatory lawyer advising financial institutions, fintech companies, and wealth management firms on complex licensing, structuring, and cross-border regulatory matters. Her practice focuses on the formation and operation of regulated financial institutions—including international banking and financial entities, broker-dealers, investment advisers, money services businesses (MSBs), and finance companies—as well as emerging fintech and digital asset platforms.
She advises clients throughout the full lifecycle of financial services businesses, from initial structuring and regulatory approvals to ongoing compliance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Her experience includes bank charters, licensing, regulatory applications, bank-fintech partnerships, Federal Reserve master accounts and access to payment systems, BSA/AML and OFAC compliance, and regulatory strategy for fintech, payments, and digital asset platforms.
María Cristina also advises on mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, securities offerings, structured finance transactions, and private equity fund structuring involving regulated entities and multinational companies. She regularly counsels founders, investors, and financial institutions on the establishment and expansion of regulated financial services operations in Puerto Rico and broader cross-border markets.
With over 20 years of experience, María Cristina has advised U.S. and international clients across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia on complex regulatory, compliance, and transactional matters involving financial services businesses. Her experience includes representing financial institutions before Puerto Rico banking regulators in licensing, supervisory, and compliance matters, as well as structuring fintech and digital asset platforms involving payment, custody, and licensing frameworks.
Prior to commencing her legal career, María Cristina was a Senior Auditor at PwC (Miami) and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), bringing a strong technical foundation in financial reporting, accounting, and risk analysis to her legal practice.
She is recognized for advising financial institutions and fintech companies entering Puerto Rico, particularly in connection with the regulatory structuring and licensing of complex platforms. She is noted for her ability to align regulatory requirements with business objectives, especially in emerging areas such as digital assets and payment systems.
Credentials
Bar Admissions
- Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
- District of Columbia
- Florida
Education
B.B.A., Cum Laude, Boston College, 1998
- Major: Accounting
J.D., University of Puerto Rico Law School, 2004
Certified Legal Specialty
Certified Mediator, Puerto Rico Supreme Court
Civil Law Notary
Memberships
Puerto Rico Bar Association
Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants
Florida Bar
DC Bar
Puerto Rico Supreme Court's Alternate Dispute Resolution Methods Bureau
Representative Transactions
Some of María Cristina’s representative matters include:
- Regulatory counsel to financial institutions on licensing, supervisory, and regulatory matters involving international financial entities, money services businesses (MSBs), financing companies, broker-dealers, and investment advisers. Her work includes administrative determinations, regulatory rulings, licensing and registration analyses under Puerto Rico law, supervisory examinations, and orderly wind-down and liquidation processes.
- Counsel to financial institutions in acquisitions, dispositions, and transfers of ownership interests involving regulated entities and financial services businesses.
- Counsel to international banking and financial entities and other financial institutions on formation, licensing, compliance, operations, fintech infrastructure, and investment matters, representing clients before the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCFI) and other supervisory authorities in connection with examinations and regulatory matters.
- Counsel to investors and private equity funds on fund formation, corporate structuring, and regulatory compliance matters related to private investment platforms and financial services investments.
- Counsel to fintech companies on the establishment and expansion of operations in Puerto Rico, including regulatory structuring, licensing, corporate, and compliance matters involving digital assets, payments, and financial services platforms.
- Counsel to global financial institutions on cross-border banking and financial regulatory compliance matters.
- Counsel to Puerto Rico commercial banks in connection with the unwinding of billions of dollars in mortgage loan sale transactions involving six Puerto Rico banks after the transactions failed to qualify as “true sales,” including obtaining regulatory approvals from applicable banking regulators.
- Counsel to a Puerto Rico banking institution in connection with compliance obligations arising from federal regulatory enforcement actions, including memoranda of understanding and cease-and-desist orders issued under the Bank Secrecy Act and other federal banking regulations.
- Lead advisers to Insigneo Financial Group in its cross-border acquisition of Citi International Financial Services (“CIFS”), a securities broker-dealer and licensed international banking entity in Puerto Rico, as part of a strategic transaction that significantly expanded Insigneo’s assets under management and international platform capabilities.
- Lead advisers to a client in the acquisition of a majority equity interest in a Puerto Rico international banking entity through a combination of stock purchase and capital investment, including representation in the regulatory approval process before OCFI in connection with the change-of-control transaction.
- Lead Puerto Rico counsels on the corporate and regulatory aspects of the merger of Insigneo Securities, LLC and Insigneo International Financial Services, LLC, both registered securities broker-dealers, resulting in the consolidation of Puerto Rico operations and continuation of international financial services activities through the surviving structure.
- Lead advisers to a newly formed Puerto Rico holding company in its acquisition of 100% of the outstanding shares of an international banking entity, including negotiation and processing of the related change-of-control approval before OCFI and the post-acquisition restructuring of the institution’s business model.
Honors & Recognition
María Cristina is ranked in both the Banking and Finance Law and the Corporate and M&A fields of the Best Lawyers in Puerto Rico guide.
