Regulated activity

Lending

Granting commercial loans, mortgage credit or factoring facilities requires a banking licence or a dedicated lending licence under CRD Annex I (2) and national credit laws. Credit institutions can passport lending across the EEA, whereas non-bank commercial lenders must rely on national licensing or registration frameworks in each target jurisdiction.

Last verified 2026-09-24Markdown · Data (CC BY 4.0)
Lending: regulated activityCRD

Definition

Granting loans, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring and financing of commercial transactions.

Which licence you need

Licence families that typically permit this activity:

Where it can be licensed

Jurisdictions where lending can be licensedAustraliaCzech RepublicEstoniaGeorgiaGermanyIrelandLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgNetherlandsPolandSlovakiaSpainSwitzerlandUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomAbu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)BermudaCayman IslandsDubai (VARA)Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)MaltaSingapore
Licences in the Atlas that permit this activity
EU/EEA passportDomestic
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM): Financial Services Permission for Accepting Deposits (Category 1 Commercial Bank)✓
Australia: Australian credit licence (ACL)✓
Bermuda: Banking Licence / Deposit Company Licence / Restricted Banking Licence (Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999)✓
Cayman Islands: Bank Licence (Category A and Category B) under the Banks and Trust Companies Act✓
Czech Republic: Commercial Bank licence (bankovní licence)✓
Czech Republic: Non-bank Consumer Credit Provider licence (oprávnění k činnosti nebankovního poskytovatele spotřebitelského úvěru)✓
Dubai (VARA): Virtual Asset Lending and Borrowing Services Licence✓
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC): Financial Services Permission for Accepting Deposits or Providing Credit (Category 1 Commercial Bank)✓
Estonia: Credit institution authorisation (bank)✓
Estonia: Operating licence as a credit servicer✓
Estonia: Operating licence as a creditor✓
Estonia: Authorisation for operating as a financial institution (Tegevusluba finantseerimisasutusena tegutsemiseks)✓
Estonia: Operating licence as a credit intermediary✓
Georgia: Commercial bank licence✓
Germany: Credit institution licence (Erlaubnis zum Betreiben von Bankgeschäften nach § 32 KWG / CRR)✓
Ireland: Banking Licence (Section 9 Central Bank Act 1971)✓
Latvia: Credit institution licence (bank)✓
Lithuania: Specialised bank licence✓
Lithuania: Bank licence✓
Lithuania: Peer-to-peer lending platform operator✓
Luxembourg: Credit institution authorisation✓
Malta: Credit institution licence✓
Netherlands: Bank licence (Vergunning bank / kredietinstelling)✓
Poland: Commercial Bank licence (bank krajowy w formie spółki akcyjnej)✓
Poland: Lending Institution registration (instytucja pożyczkowa - RIP)✓
Singapore: Banking Licence (Full Bank, Wholesale Bank, Digital Bank)✓
Slovakia: Banking licence (bankové povolenie)✓
Spain: Entidad de crédito (Banco) / Commercial bank licence✓
Spain: Establecimiento financiero de crédito (EFC) / Specialized lending credit institution authorization✓
Switzerland: FinTech licence (Persons pursuant to Article 1b Banking Act / FinTech-Bewilligung nach Art. 1b BankG)✓
Switzerland: Banking licence (Bankbewilligung nach Art. 3 BankG)✓
United Arab Emirates: Commercial Bank Licence✓
United Kingdom: Consumer Credit Full Permission Authorisation (Part 4A FSMA)✓

Frequently asked questions

Can a non-bank lending company fund loans from customer deposits?

No, non-bank lenders cannot accept public deposits. They must fund their loan portfolios entirely from proprietary equity capital, wholesale credit facilities, institutional debt issues or securitisation structures, subject to national non-bank financial institution regulations.

Does corporate commercial lending require a European passport?

CRD provides passporting rights for lending only to authorised credit institutions. Non-bank lending companies cannot passport their lending activities across the EU and must comply with national licensing, notification or exemption rules in each member state.

Last verified 2026-09-24Author Danil Marmysh, Founder & CEO, ProtegraReviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova, Head of Licensing, ProtegraReport an errorReference information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. CRD Annex I (2) · retrieved 2026-09-24

Planning lending? Get the licence right first

Tell us your model and target markets. We check which licence it needs, and whether a narrower one will do, before you spend on an application.

A free preliminary assessment: we check your business model against the licence before you spend on an application. We handle this licence and any other fintech licence, including jurisdictions the Atlas does not cover yet.