Financial services

Anyone wishing to provide professional financial services in Germany requires a licence in accordance with § 32 clause 1 of the Banking Act (KWG).
Financial services are defined by § 1 a of the Banking Act (KWG) as arranging transactions through the purchase and sale of financial instruments or their documentation (investment brokering), the purchase and sale of financial instruments in the name of and for the account of others (contract broking), the management of individual assets invested in financial instruments for others with decision-making responsibility (financial portfolio), the purchase and sale of financial instruments by means of proprietary trading for others, the negotiation of deposit transactions with companies based outside the European Economic Area (arranging third country deposits), commissioning payment orders (financial transfer transactions) and trading in currency (currency transactions).
Arranging loans and mediating with regard to corporate shares are not covered by the compulsory licence requirements of § 32 clause 1 of the Banking Act (KWG).
Responsible body: Federal Financial Services Supervisory Institute/Deutsche Bundesbank Hamburg