BANKING LICENSE. EUROPEAN (EU/EEA) BANK LICENSING. SPECIALISED BANK
Prestigious European EU/EEA banking license opening the world’s biggest financial market of 450 million consumers and over 20 million businesses. Capital requirement starts from EUR 1 million. The requirement for the Full Service Bank’s capital is EUR 5 million.
According to the European Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013, only the Banks as Credit Institutions have an exclusive right to accept deposits and other repayable funds from non-professional market participants and provide a full scale of banking lending and other financial services. The banks licensed in one European Union (EU) member state are allowed to offer all banking services in a single European financial market consisting of 27 member states.
Specialised Bank is a unique pan-European banking license
Specialised Bank license with the capital requirement of only 1 million EUR currently is unique in all European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA). Prestigious pan-European banking license issued by the European Central Bank through the Bank of Lithuania (Central Bank and financial regulator) allows provision of all traditional banking services in all common European financial market and has no equivalents in other EU jurisdictions.
Banking services provided by the Specialised Bank:
business and retail lending
payment services
receipt of deposits
currency exchange
issuing of e-money
issuing guarantees
fund administration
financial leasing
financial intermediation
creditworthiness assessment services
safe-deposit box rental
all other traditional banking services
The Specialised Bank is only restricted to provide investment advisory services, securities brokerage, investment fund management and other similar services.
Instant access to the common European banking market at a low cost
Licensed Specialised Bank/Bank provides significant competitive advantages and opens up the European financial market at significantly lower incorporation and operational costs. Lithuania and primarily its capital Vilnius became a new hub for the European banking service centers. Favourable regulatory and tax environment, excellent infrastructure and quality pool of relatively cheap labour force make Vilnius attractive for large international banking institutions and FinTech start-ups. Operational costs became vital in today’s financial business. New FinTech companies are challenging traditional banking institutions and cutting margins. This is the main reason why traditional finance institutions and FinTech start-ups discover Lithuania. They need jurisdictions which open a large single European banking market and allow to create safe, efficient and cost effective banking institution ready to face intense competition in EU/EEAbanking market.
Lithuanian easy-to-get banking license of the Specialised Bank is exactly what they need. It opens the single banking market of the EU/EEA, including large national markets such as French or German, at significantly lower costs. Scandinavian competitors SEB, Swedbank, Danske Bank as well as the financial industry leader Western Union, the world’s biggest stock exchange operator NASDAQ have service centers and operate their global business from Vilnius. Traditional European financial jurisdictions are losing their importance in our days. The UK and London have suffered from BREXIT. The UK-based financial institutions are looking for new jurisdictions in order to secure their financial licenses in continental Europe. Offshore jurisdictions are no longer considered attractive because of automatic tax information exchange, restrictions for opening correspondent bank accounts and limited access to the single European market.
The reasons why Lithuania is one of the top banking jurisdictions in EU/EEA:
Fast licensing process.
Capital requirement for the Specialised Bank is from EUR 1,000,000, for the Bank – EUR 5,000,000.
Licensing documentation can be submitted in English.
Direct access to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
Deposits amounting up to EUR 100,000 are insured according to EU Deposit Insurance Scheme.
Remote client verification. Innovative “know your customer” processes for remote verification allows identification of the client without being physically present.
Direct access to all EU/EEA banking and financial markets.
Start-up visa. Special visas for the citizens of non-EU/EEA countries running innovative businesses in Lithuania.
ECOVIS experience in bank licensing
Being a part of ECOVIS International consulting network operating in 80 counties around the world, ECOVIS ProventusLaw currently is considered to be the most experienced financial licensing advisor in Lithuania. We licensed more than 35 different financial institutions. ECOVIS banking team members participated in the licensing process of 4 different Specialised Banks and provided legal services to the first Specialised Bank licensed in Lithuania Mano Bank https://mano.bank/. ECOVIS ProventusLaw provides all necessary services for the bank licensing process, including preparation of the legal part of the licensing documentation, preparation of the business plan and financial part of the licensing documentation, representation in the Bank of Lithuania (Regulator) during the licensing procedure, advice on AML, IT, HR, compliance and other issues arising during the incorporation of banking business in Europe. When the licensing procedure is completed, ECOVIS offers accounting, audit, compliance and legal services for the operational banking business.
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