Local and foreign investors involved in financial activities are required to obtain a financial license in Greece. In order to obtain the license, different requirements must be accomplished, in accordance with the activity the investor will carry out. The financial license in Greece, or authorization, must be obtained for a variety of financial activities.
Our team of lawyers in Greece can present the types of activities that must be licensed and can offer the necessary legal support to investors who have to obtain the authorization.
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Institutions in charge
The main authority that is in charge of issuing a financial license in Greece is the National Bank. However, depending on the specific activities, the approval of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission may be required as well. Our Greek lawyers can provide more details as to when the involvement of the 2nd institution is imposed.
Types of activities that must obtain a license
In the list below, our Greek lawyers present the types of financial activities that are licensed in accordance with the rules of the National Bank of Greece. For each specific activity, different regulations may apply, therefore it is advisable to request for legal advice:
- leasing companies;
- credit companies;
- factoring companies;
- credit servicing firms;
- electronic money institutions;
- exchange offices;
- third party providers;
- microfinance institutions.
All these activities need the approval of the above mentioned institution, otherwise they can’t engage in commercial operations in Greece. However, while some of the conditions to obtain the license may be the same for some activities (in terms of incorporation requirements and applicable laws), in many cases, the law stipulates certain conditions applicable only to a type of activity.
These special conditions can refer to the minimum capital necessary for setting up the business. Below, you can observe a few of the different policies imposed for the capital of these businesses:
- a credit company needs to subscribe an initial capital of EUR 9 million;
- a financial leasing company is required to subscribe ½ of the capital required for credit companies;
- a factoring company is required by law to subscribe a minimum share capital of at least ¼ of the sum imposed to credit companies;
- exchange offices must have a capital of EUR 200,000 and they also need to comply with a requirement concerning the number of branches opened in Greece (a company can have up to 6 branches);
- microfinance institutions are imposed with a minimum share capital of EUR 250,000.
Basic requirements imposed to all financial companies in Greece
Although each of the business activities that can be carried out by financial companies have different policies (such as as presented above, for the minimum share capital), they do need to comply with a set of basic rules, applicable to all financial operators regardless of the company type. Thus, it is mandatory, during the process of incorporation, to present the following:
- a solid business plan;
- a clear description of the security procedures that will be applied by the company;
- measures taken for the protection of customers;
- the company’s management and control procedures;
- the anti-money laundering measures taken by the company, as per the EU and Greek laws.
Our attorneys in Greece can provide in-depth details on the Anti-Money Laundering laws available here. We can offer full legal representation during the process of obtaining a financial license in Greece, but you can also rely on us for other services (for example, if you want to buy a property in Greece for commercial purposes). Please contact our law firm in Greece for more details.