A credit institution may not start operating before it obtains the authorisation.

In accordance with Article 60 of the Credit Institutions Act credit institution will receive authorisation to operate as a bank, a savings bank, a housing savings bank or a credit institution referred to in Article 4, paragraph (1), item (1), sub-item (b) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013.

The authorisation will include authorisation to provide banking services (the taking of deposits or other repayable funds from the public and the granting of credits for own account from these funds) and may also include authorisation to provide core and additional financial services. Where a credit institution intends to provide financial services which are not covered by authorisation, prior to the entry of such services into the register of companies it has to obtain an authorisation from the Croatian National Bank to provide such services.

Article 7 of the Credit Institutions Act defines banking services, and Article 8 defines the core and additional financial services that a credit institution may provide subject to the authorisation of the Croatian National Bank to provide such services.

The application for authorisation of credit institutions must be accompanied by all the documentation defined in the Decision on the documentation to be enclosed with the application for the authorisation of a credit institution and the application for the authorisation to provide financial services adopted pursuant to the provision of Article 65, paragraph (7) of Credit Institutions Act.

The application for authorisation of credit institution shall be submitted together with the application/applications for prior approval to acquire a qualifying holding in a credit institution, for prior approval for the chairperson of the management board or management board members or supervisory board members of a credit institution and for authorisation to provide financial services. Decisions on all the listed applications can be taken at the same time.

The CNB informs the ECB of receipts of applications in accordance with the regulatory framework and assesses whether all the conditions for the authorization laid down in Article 67 of the Credit Institutions Act are met. If the CNB determines that the conditions for the authorisation of credit institutions under the Credit Institutions Act are not met, it will refuse the application for authorisation and inform the ECB accordingly.

The ECB assesses the application on the basis of the conditions for authorisation laid down in the relevant Union law. More information on that subject is available here. If, in its view, these conditions are not met, the ECB will give the applicant the opportunity to comment in writing on the facts and objections relevant to the assessment.

The ECB decides on a draft authorisation decision it receives from the CNB within the deadline prescribed by the regulatory framework (unless a decision on the extension of the maximum period for deciding on an application has been taken). The ECB may support the CNB's draft authorisation decision and thereby agree to the authorisation or object to the CNB's draft authorisation decision.

More information on the ECB's licensing process, licensing of investment firms, which, in accordance with the relevant regulatory framework for investment firms (Investment Firm Regulation and Directive), are to be authorised as credit institutions, and on the authorisation of parent (mixed) financial holding companies is available at the following link.