Executive Summary The German banking market
is on the move. This presents opportunities for foreign investors
who would like to enter the German financial market. However, in
order to acquire an interest in a German financial institution,
i.e. credit or financial services institution, an investor has to
comply with a couple of specific regulatory requirements.
Credit institutions are companies which carry out banking
business, as defined in Section 1 of the German Banking Act
(Kreditwesengesetz, KWG), such as, for example, granting
loans or taking deposits. Financial services institutions offer
financial services without being credit institutions. They provide
services such as investment placement, investment consulting or the
business of providing multilateral trading systems. Larger banks
and financial institutions are often stock corporations
(Aktiengesellschaft), smaller ones are usually run as
limited liability companies or limited liability partnerships
(Gesells
