French Monetary and Financial Code
In forceI.-A third-country firm establishes a branch in order to provide, in mainland France, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, La Réunion, Mayotte or Saint-Martin, the investment services mentioned in Article L. 321-1 and, where applicable, the related services mentioned in Article L. 321-2, to :
1° Non-professional clients ;
2° Clients who have asked to be treated as professional clients;
3° Professional clients and eligible counterparties, in the absence of an equivalence decision by the European Commission as provided for in Article 47(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, or if this decision is no longer in force.
II. - The authorisation of a branch of a third-country firm is granted by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution, provided that the following conditions are met:
1° The provision of services for which the third-country undertaking seeks authorisation is subject to authorisation and supervision in its home State and the applicant undertaking is duly authorised in its home State. The branch is authorised within the limits of the services which the third-country undertaking to which it belongs is authorised to provide. The home country of this undertaking imposes obligations equivalent to those laid down by European Union law in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The list of these countries is set by order of the Minister for the Economy;
2° Cooperation mechanisms are in place between the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution and the Autorité des marchés financiers, on the one hand, and the competent authorities empowered, under the law of the home country of the third-country undertaking, to authorise or supervise that undertaking, on the other, including provisions for the exchange of information with a view to preserving the integrity of the market and protecting investors;
3° The branch has an initial endowment at least equal to an amount set by order of the Minister responsible for the economy;
4° The branch is effectively managed by at least two persons who comply with the provisions of Article L. 533-25. An order of the Minister for the Economy, issued in accordance with Article L. 611-3, sets out the conditions under which a branch may, by way of derogation, be effectively managed by a single person. It specifies the measures that must be taken to ensure the efficient, sound and prudent management of the branch concerned, taking appropriate account of the interests of the branch's customers and the integrity of the market;
5° The home state of the third-country company has signed an administrative assistance agreement with France to combat tax evasion and avoidance and is not a non-cooperative state within the meaning ofArticle 238-0 A of the General Tax Code;
6° The branch is a member of the securities guarantee mechanism referred to in Article L. 322-1.
III. - Prior to authorisation being granted, the programme of operations must be approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers under the conditions set out in Article L. 532-4.
IV - A decree sets out the terms and conditions for the application of this article. Where necessary to safeguard the smooth operation of the financial markets, it may provide for derogations limited to the proprietary trading referred to in article L. 321-1.
