The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) has launched new pages on its website for foreign companies in the financial sector.
On these new web pages, BaFin provides information regarding:
- communication;
- procedures;
- internal risk models;
- outsourcing and
- securities prospectus.
The web pages also contain a new Brexit FAQ catalogue in which BaFin sets out answers to frequently asked questions that UK banks and other financial institutions may have. In particular, BaFin answers questions relating to outsourcing, organisational requirements, capital adequacy and the expected timeframe / average time needed to complete the authorisation process. BaFin also provides information that is intended to clarify its assessment on the establishment of a branch in combination with a new or existing subsidiary in Germany.
Furthermore, BaFin has established a special contact address for financial services firms wishing to move their registered office or operations to Germany. The publication of the new web pages follows a workshop that BaFin organised for foreign financial institutions which provided information about the regulatory consequences of Brexit, the applicability of the EU passporting regime and other interrelated regulatory issues.