Investment and financial services subject to licensing
Matters requiring authorisation (BaFin regulation)
Anyone wishing to provide subsequent investment services in Germany on a commercial basis or a commercial scale, either alone or together with subsequent ancillary investment services or ancillary transactions, requires a written permit under Section 15 (1) of the German Securities Institutions Act (Wertpapierinstitutsgesetz - WpIG) before commencing business.
In the following overview, we have listed the facts that require a licence and their English translation. In addition, you can access the fact sheets directly from the links, from which you can obtain further information.
Investment services
| Wertpapierdienstleistungen | Investment services | |
| Finanzkommissionsgeschäft [ § 2 Absatz 2 Satz 1 Nr. 1 WpIG ] | Principal broking business | |
| Emissionsgeschäft [ § 2 Absatz 2 Satz 1 Nr. 2 WpIG ] | Underwriting business | |
| Anlagevermittlung [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 3 WpIG ] | Investment broking | |
| Anlageberatung [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 4 WpIG ] | Investment advice | |
| Abschlussvermittlung [ § 2Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 5 WpIG ] | Contract broking | |
| Betrieb eines multilateralen Handelssystems [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 6 WpIG ] | Operation of a multilateral trading facility | |
| Betrieb eines organisierten Handelssystems [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 7 WpIG ] | Operation of an organised trading facility | |
| Platzierungsgeschäft [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 8 WpIG ] | Placement business | |
| Finanzportfolioverwaltung [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 9 WpIG ] | Portfolio management | |
| Eigenhandel [ § 2 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 10 WpIG ] | Dealing on own account |
Source: BaFin (DE, EN)
Financial services
Anyone wishing to provide financial services in Germany on a commercial basis or on a commercial scale requires a written permit from BaFin in accordance with section 32 (1) sentence 1 of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz - KWG) before commencing business.
| Anlagevermittlung [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 1 KWG ] | Investment broking | Merkblatt |
| Anlageberatung [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 1a KWG ] | Investment advice | Fact sheet |
| Betrieb eines multilateralen Handelssystems [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 1b KWG ] | Operation of a multilateral trading facility | Fact sheet |
| Platzierungsgeschäft [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 1c KWG ] | Placement business | Fact sheet |
Betrieb eines organisierten Handelssystems | Operation of an organised trading facility | Fact sheet |
Abschlussvermittlung | Contract broking | Fact sheet |
| Finanzportfolioverwaltung [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 3 KWG ] | Portfolio management | Fact sheet |
| Eigenhandel [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 4 a bis d KWG] | Dealing on own | Fact sheet |
| Drittstaateneinlagenvermittlung [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 5 KWG ] | Third-country (non-European Economic Area) deposit broking | Fact sheet |
| Kryptoverwahrgeschäft [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 6 KWG ] | Crypto custody business | Fact sheet |
| Sortengeschäft [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 7 KWG ] | Foreign currency dealing | Fact sheet |
| Factoring [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 9 KWG ] | Factoring | Fact sheet |
| Finanzierungsleasing [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 10 KWG ] | Financial leasing | Fact sheet |
| Anlageverwaltung [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 11 KWG ] | Investment management | Fact sheet |
| eingeschränktes Verwahrgeschäft [ § 1 Abs. 1a Satz 2 Nr. 12 KWG ] | Limited safekeeping business | Fact sheet |
Quellenangabe: BaFin (DE, EN)
Ancillary investment services
| Wertpapiernebendienstleistungen | Ancillary investment services | |
| die Verwahrung und die Verwaltung von Finanzinstrumenten für andere und damit verbundene Dienstleistungen (Depotgeschäft) [ § 2 Abs. 3 Nr. 1 WpIG ] | Safekeeping and administration of financial instruments for the account of third parties, including related services (safe custody business) | Merkblatt |
die Gewährung von Darlehen oder anderen Krediten an andere für die Durchführung von Wertpapierdienstleistungen, sofern das Unternehmen, das den Kredit oder das Darlehen gewährt, an diesen Geschäften beteiligt [ § 2 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 WpIG ] | Granting loans or other credits to others to allow them to carry out investment services, where the enterprise granting the credit or loan is involved in these transactions | Merkblatt |
| Devisengeschäfte, die in Zusammenhang mit Wertpapierdienstleistungen stehen [ § 2 Abs. 3 Nr. 4 WpIG ] | Foreign exchange transactions that are connected to investment services | Merkblatt |
Important national and European legal bases
Investment firms
Investment Firms
- Securities Institutions Act (WpIG)
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1945
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1943
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1946
CRR-Institutes
Are you looking for a financial services provider registered with BaFin? Please feel free to use our DDH database of companies authorised in Germany or directly the database of the German Financial Market Authority.
