I. – Authorisation to provide one or more investment services by a credit institution may be granted to legal entities having their registered office in France or to branches established in France of credit institutions having their registered office in a State which is neither a member of the European Union nor a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. To grant this authorisation, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution verifies, in addition to the conditions set out in Article L. 511-10, whether the credit institution has:
1° Sufficient initial capital or endowment as determined by the Minister responsible for the economy, taking into account the nature of the service it intends to provide;
2° A programme of operations for each of the services it intends to provide, specifying the conditions under which it intends to provide the investment services concerned and indicating the type of transactions envisaged and its organisational structure.
The credit institution must also have subscribed to a securities guarantee scheme managed by the Fonds de garantie des dépôts et de résolution in accordance with Articles L. 322-1 to L. 322-4.
The AMF may attach special conditions to the authorisation in order to preserve the balance of the institution’s financial structure. The Authority may also make the granting of authorisation subject to compliance with undertakings given by the applicant institution.
The credit institution must comply with the conditions of the authorisation at all times.
II. – When they are authorised to provide investment services, credit institutions having their registered office or central administration in a State which is neither a member of the European Union nor a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area may provide these investment services on French territory without having a branch in France, provided that the client alone initiates this provision.
These credit institutions are prohibited from marketing financial instruments or investment services other than those for which the client has initiated the provision, other than through a branch authorised in accordance with this sub-section.