Applications for the issuance of a permit/license in the field of Finance

Bank is a traditional financial market entity using the privilege of accepting deposits and granting loans or, if it meets the conditions under a special regulation, it may provide investment services and investment activities pursuant to the special regulation. In addition to the above, the bank may provide a wide range of financial services and activities that are specified in its banking license. The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is ready to provide comprehensive legal services in order to obtain a bank permit under Act No. 483/2001 Coll. on Banks.

An insurance company is a legal entity with its registered office in the territory of the Slovak Republic, which carries out insurance activity on the basis of a permit to carry out insurance activity granted by the National Bank of Slovakia.

The granting of credits from own resources to consumers is a regulated activity on the financial market, the performance of which is possible only after a relevant permit has been granted by the National Bank of Slovakia.

Payment services represent one of the largest sets of services provided on the financial market. Payment services include, for example, depositing and withdrawing funds in cash to a payment account and performing all actions related to maintaining a payment account, performing payment operations, including transferring funds from or to a payment account held with a payment service provider, performing payment operations from a loan granted to a payment service user, issuing means of payment or accepting payment operations, remittance of money, provision of a payment initiation service or a payment account information service.

Electronic money, which is used in a wide range of innovative financial products and services, is a monetary value stored electronically, including a magnetic record, which represents a monetary obligation of the issuer of electronic money arising from the receipt of funds for the purpose of performing payment operations and which is, on the basis of a contract, also accepted by a person other than the issuer of electronic money.

The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is ready to provide comprehensive legal services in order to obtain a permit for the issuing of electronic money under Act No. 492/2009 Coll. on Payment Services.

Financial instruments and especially securities as a subset thereof, are the main investment instruments through which institutionalised and retail investors realise their investments on the financial market. Activities and services connected with financial instruments are thus subject to special regulation of the financial market to the following extent:

• Acceptance and forwarding of a client's instruction relating to one or more financial instruments.
• Execution of a client's instruction on his account.
• Trading on his own account.
• Portfolio management.
• Investment advice.
• Underwriting and placement of financial instruments on the basis of a firm commitment.
• Placement of financial instruments without a firm commitment.
• Organisation of a multilateral trading system.
• Organisation of an organised trading system.

The provision of investment services to clients or the performance of investment activities on the basis of a permit for the provision of investment services granted by the National Bank of Slovakia is reserved for security traders who, in the territory of the Slovak Republic as well as in other Member States of the European Union, may operate exclusively as public limited companies.

A standard fund is a fund into which money is collected by means of a public offer with the aim of investing the funds thus collected in transferable securities and other liquid financial assets on a risk-mitigating and risk-spreading basis. The establishment and management of standard funds and European standard funds are reserved to management companies under Act No. 203/2011 Coll. on Collective Investment.

An alternative investment fund is a collective investment entity, which is not a standard fund and into which cash and cash equivalents collected by means of a public offer or a private offer with the aim to invest the cash and cash equivalents thus collected in the assets provided for by this Act or defined by the statute of the alternative investment fund. An alternative investment fund is considered to be a collective investment entity that is not regulated by a legally binding act of the European Union governing undertakings of collective investment in transferable securities. An alternative investment fund is a special fund and a domestic collective investment entity with legal personality, which is a company or cooperative with its registered office in the territory of the Slovak Republic, which collects cash and cash equivalents from several investors with the aim to invest them in accordance with a defined investment policy in favour of these investors. A special fund is a public special fund (a special fund of securities, a special fund of alternative investments and a special real estate fund) and a special fund of qualified investors. The establishment and management of alternative investment funds and foreign alternative investment funds are reserved to management companies under Act No. 203/2011 Coll. on Collective Investment.

Financial intermediation is the intermediation of the conclusion of a contract for the provision of a financial service between a client and a financial institution. A financial agent mediates the conclusion of contracts for the provision of a financial service on the basis of contractual relationships with financial institutions, which provide the financial agent with remuneration for such intermediation. In order to carry out the activity of an independent financial agent in the territory of the Slovak Republic, a permit from the National Bank of Slovakia is required.

Financial advice is the provision of professional assistance, information, opinions, recommendations and personal financial plans to a client in connection with one financial service or more financial services on the basis of an impartial analysis of a sufficient number of available financial services, including the subsequent conclusion of or amendment to a contract for the provision of a financial service at the client's request, on the client's behalf and on the client's account. Financial advisory services in the capital market sector include, in addition to the above activities, the provision of investment advisory service in relation to transferable securities and units of mutual funds and securities issued by foreign collective investment entities. A financial advisor provides financial advice on the basis of a contractual relationship with a client, who provides the financial advisor with an agreed remuneration for such financial advice. In order to carry out the activity of a financial advisor in the territory of the Slovak Republic, a permit from the National Bank of Slovakia is required.

Crowdfunding represents a modern way of obtaining funds from a wide audience of entities. In the event that funds, within crowdfunding, are provided for financial consideration, we are talking about so-called investment crowdfunding, which is legally referred to as crowdfunding. The provision of crowdfunding financing is subject to obtaining a permit granted by the National Bank of Slovakia, while the conditions for obtaining the permit, as well as the subsequent performance of activities of a crowdfunding service provider, are regulated by Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No. 2020/1503 on European Business Crowdfunding Service Providers. Under the regulation, crowdfunding is divided into crowdfunding through the sale of financial instruments or other equity instruments (equity-based crowdfunding) and crowdfunding through loans (loan crowdfunding).