Credit institution licence (Erlaubnis zum Betreiben von Bankgeschäften nach § 32 KWG / CRR) (Germany)

At a glance

What it lets you do

• Taking deposits from the public
• Lending
• Execution of payment transactions

• Taking deposits from the public. Accepting deposits or other repayable funds from the public, the activity reserved to credit institutions.
• Lending. Granting loans, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring and financing of commercial transactions.
• Execution of payment transactions. Executing direct debits, card payments and credit transfers, including standing orders, from a payment account.

Where it is valid

Cost

How long it takes

Statutory: 6 months from receipt of complete application, maximum 12 months overall⁶. Observed: not published. The statutory clock usually starts only when the regulator treats the application as complete, and pauses while it waits for answers to its questions.

Buying a company that already holds it

Prior notification with an objection period. Acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding reaching or crossing 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% of capital or voting rights, or gaining control of a credit institution, payment institution, or investment firm, requires prior written notification to BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. BaFin conducts an assessment of acquirer reliability, professional competence, financial soundness, and money laundering risks within 60 working days from receipt of a complete filing, interruptible once by up to 20 working days (or 30 working days if non-EEA) to request additional information, under Section 2c KWG, applied mutatis mutandis to payment and e-money institutions via Section 14 ZAG and to investment firms via Section 24 WpIG.⁸

Laws behind it

• Capital Requirements Regulation: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
• Capital Requirements Directive: Directive 2013/36/EU