With an AFM license, it is necessary that some of Lendahand`s activities (website support, hiring local partners, legal issues, etc.) are strictly separated from financial transactions (payments via websites). Intersolve offers invoicing of payment transactions. For more help, you can download our 13-step guide to applying for a Wft license. According to MiFID II, a regulation lays down the rules on the information to be provided for the application. These requirements are largely included in the application form. Individuals who have had an AFM license in the past and have not participated for an extended period of time may be required to complete an AFM approved new runner school. All new members must do so. A lot of things can go wrong at this point in the process. If the organizational chart is incomplete, it may raise questions for the regulator. Therefore, you must ensure that the structure of the organization matches the license category. Also pay attention to strict requirements and mandatory features. To be eligible for an AFM or DNB license, your organization must meet certain legal requirements. However, financial legislation is quite complex, making it difficult to obtain a complete overview of the current legal framework.
Application forms do not cover all requirements. Without consulting a specialist in the area of financial supervision laws, you run the risk of neglecting the requirements. Companies such as banks, pension funds, financial service providers, investment firms or payment institutions wishing to offer financial services or products in the Netherlands must obtain a licence from Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) or De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). But applying for a license is not an easy process. This requires expertise and thorough preparation. In this article, we share five pitfalls when applying for an AFM or DNB license. Reciprocity License The AFM offers reciprocity to permit holders from other licensed motorcycle racing organizations. Holders of a reciprocity license do not receive or earn points, either in class or in total. They may appear in the results/tables before the final season standings, but are not eligible for end-of-season championships or emergency bonuses. Reciprocal licence holders can upgrade to a competition licence before 1 July 2021.
For certain categories of licences, shareholders who hold a capital or majority stake of at least 10% must be assessed by DNB. This is because the regulator wants to prevent parties that are not financially sound or that are not whole from holding shares in financial companies. DNB needs a lot of information for this evaluation. If DNB agrees, it issues a declaration of no objection (DNO). Applying for a DNO is complex and time-consuming. There are requirements regarding the capital position, reliability and sometimes the suitability of decision-makers. To this end, the financial figures of legal and natural persons, a business case and a reliability check must be submitted to the DNB. Figures must not be older than one year. On 24 March 2022, the Netherlands Financial Markets Authority (“AFM”) granted True Partner Capital Netherlands BV (“TPCNL”) authorisation to operate as an investment firm pursuant to Article 2:96 of the Netherlands Financial Supervision Act (“Wft”). TPCNL applied for this investment firm licence in order to be able to provide investment services (“Verlenen van een beleggingsdienst”) in accordance with category “c”, section 1:1 Wft: Portfolio management (“Beheren van een individueel vermogen”).
Since September 2016, the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM) Hands-on B.V. (trade name “Lendahand”) has had an investment firm licence in accordance with Article 2:96 of the Financial Market Supervision Act (WFT). Therefore, placing orders on the Lendahand website is officially an activity regulated by AFM. As a result, Lendahand meets the minimum capital licence requirement of EUR 125,000 set by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). As a licensed financial institution, you must meet all possible requirements. Therefore, when applying for a license, you should give the regulator an overview of your business processes and how your organization is structured. To do this, you need to provide an organizational chart that contains all the services and structures. In this graph, you need to specify in detail who is responsible for the departments and pay special attention to the internal audit functions. Also specify which functions will be outsourced and which people can occupy more than one position. Lendahand cooperates with Intersolve EGI: a Dutch financial institution specializing in the provision of services in the field of payment processing and electronic money.
In order to provide these financial services, Intersolve EGI must comply with applicable financial laws. Intersolve EGI is therefore supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM) and holds a licence to operate as an electronic money institution (and therefore also has a licence as a payment institution). Your investments will be deposited in a secure and secure bank account until the project you have invested in is fully funded. Intersolve has no access to these funds in any way. Once the project is fully funded, the money will be transferred to the respective local partner or company. An incomplete or incorrect licence application may result in a delay or even rejection of the application. And that would be a shame, because there are always costs for a license application – even if the application is rejected. That`s why it`s important to determine in advance how to categorize the services you want to offer. Do you need a license? And if so, is the license granted by the AFM or the DNB? The AFM issues licences to financial service providers, fund managers and investment companies, among others.
DNB is the licensing authority for payment institutions, trust offices, banks and insurance companies. You may also need to deal with both supervisory authorities, for example in the case of an investment firm. The license must be applied to the AFM, while shareholders with a stake of 10% or more must apply for a Declaration of No Objection (DNO) from DNB. “We are very satisfied with this Mifid II license,” says Hendrik Koppe, Managing Director of TPC NL. “It is an important step for our company to be able to further develop our asset management offering for European investors. And most importantly, with this license, we will also be able to launch our own UCITS offerings from Amsterdam in the near future. We hope our tips will help you avoid common mistakes so that your license application works properly. License applications that are complete and of good quality have the best chance of success. Based on interviews and other information, we can help you legally qualify your business structure, activities, services and products. Then we can determine together whether a license is needed and, if so, for which services a license is required.
We are also able to help you set up your organisation in accordance with legal requirements and determine the impact of financial legislation and regulation on your services. Our experts will be happy to help you. Lendahand is part of the Investor Compensation Scheme (ICS). This system aims to compensate individuals and small businesses that have entrusted money and/or financial instruments (such as debt securities or options) to a bank, investment firm or authorised financial institution in the event that the financial firm is unable to fulfil its obligations arising from claims relating to the investment service (in particular if the obligations received from investors from Hands-On BV on the Wge deposit account are not being kept properly). The ICS guarantees an amount of up to €20,000 per individual per institution. DE RECIPROCITY riders who apply for a reciprocity license and wish to bypass a new AFM-approved racing school must provide documentation from the other racing club indicating that the driver is classified as a beginner or expert. Only approved motorcycle racing clubs are accepted for the purposes of the reciprocity permit; Other forms of racing (Dirt, Motorcycle, Supermoto, Mini, etc.) are not accepted. Upon receipt of the items listed below, AFM will issue an AFM Reciprocity License at its sole discretion: – A properly executed application – Release and Waiver of Liability Agreement Form – All reciprocal licenses require primary personal health insurance.
Pure insurance in the emergency room is not acceptable – A photocopy of a valid driver`s license, state-issued photo ID, or a notarized copy of the birth certificate may be requested at any time upon request – All applicable fees – Comprehension of spoken and written English is required * There may be additional requirements for runners under the age of 18. Please contact the Chief Registrar of the AFM for more information. APPLICANTS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 must complete the Minor Application and Minor Release and Waiver of Liability Agreement form.