This Directive concerns the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions. This Directive shall apply to all credit institutions.

Articles 25 and 52 to 56 shall also apply to financial holding companies and mixed-activity holding companies which have their head offices in the Community.

The institutions permanently excluded by paragraph 3, with the exception, however, of the Member States' central banks, shall be treated as financial institutions for the purposes of Articles 25 and 52 to 56.

This Directive shall not apply to:

• the central banks of Member States,

• post office giro institutions,

• in Belgium, the ‘Institut de Réescompte et de Garantie/Herdiscontering- en Waarborginstituut’,

• in Denmark, the ‘Dansk Eksportfinansieringsfond’, the ‘Danmarks Skibskreditfond’, and ‘Dansk Landbrugs Realkreditfond’,

• in Germany, the ‘Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau’, undertakings which are recognised under the ‘Wohnungsgemeinnützigkeitsgesetz’ as bodies of State housing policy and are not mainly engaged in banking transactions, and undertakings recognised under that law as non-profit housing undertakings,

• in Greece, the ‘Ελληνική Τράπεζα Βιομηχανικής Αναπτύξεως,’, (Elliniki Trapeza Viomichanikis Anaptyxeos), the ‘Ταμείο Παρακαταθηκών και Δανείων’ (Tamio Parakatathikon kai Danion), and the ‘Ταχυδρομικό Ταμιευτήριο’ (Tachidromiko Tamieftirio),

• in Spain, the ‘Instituto de Crédito Oficial’,

• in France, the ‘Caisse des dépôts et consignations’,

• in Ireland, credit unions and the friendly societies,

• in Italy, the ‘Cassa depositi e prestiti’,

• in the Netherlands, the ‘Netherlandse Investeringsbank voor Ontwikkelingslanden NV’, the ‘NV Noordelijke Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij’, the ‘NV Industriebank Limburgs Instituut voor Ontwikkeling en Financiering’ and the ‘Overijsselse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij NV’,

• in Austria, undertakings recognised as housing associations in the public interest and the ‘Österreichische Kontrollbank AG’,

• in Portugal, ‘Caixas Económicas’ existing on 1 January 1986 with the exception of those incorporated as limited companies and of the ‘Caixa Económica Montepio Geral’,

• in Finland, the ‘Teollisen yhteistyön rahasto Oy/Fonden för industriellt samarbete AB’, and the ‘Kera Oy/Kera Ab’,

• in Sweden, the ‘Svenska Skeppshypotekskassan’,

• in the United Kingdom, the National Savings Bank, the Commonwealth Development Finance Company Ltd, the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Ltd, the Scottish Agricultural Securities Corporation Ltd, the Crown Agents for overseas governments and administrations, credit unions and municipal banksF1,

• F2in Latvia, the ‘krājaizdevu sabiedrības’, undertakings that are recognised under the ‘krājaizdevu sabiedrību likums’ as cooperative undertakings rendering financial services solely to their members,

• in Lithuania, the ‘kredito unijos’ other than the ‘Centrinė kredito unija’,

• in Hungary, the ‘Magyar Fejlesztési Bank Rt.’ and the ‘Magyar Export-Import Bank Rt.’,

• in Poland, the ‘Spółdzielcze Kasy Oszczędnościowo - Kreditowe’ and the ‘Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego’.

The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, which, for this purpose, shall consult the Committee referred to in Article 57 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Banking Advisory Committee’) shall decide on any amendments to the list in paragraph 3.

Credit institutions situated in the same Member State and permanently affiliated, on 15 December 1977, to a central body which supervises them and which is established in that same Member State, may be exempted from the requirements of Articles 6(1), 8 and 59 if, no later than 15 December 1979, national law provides that:

• the commitments of the central body and affiliated institutions are joint and several liabilities or the commitments of its affiliated institutions are entirely guaranteed by the central body,

• the solvency and liquidity of the central body and of all the affiliated institutions are monitored as a whole on the basis of consolidated accounts,

• the management of the central body is empowered to issue instructions to the management of the affiliated institutions.

Credit institutions operating locally which are affiliated, subsequent to 15 December 1977, to a central body within the meaning of the first subparagraph, may benefit from the conditions laid down therein if they constitute normal additions to the network belonging to that central body.

In the case of credit institutions other than those which are set up in areas newly reclaimed from the sea or have resulted from scission or mergers of existing institutions dependent or answerable to the central body, the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, which shall for this purpose, consult the Banking Advisory Committee, may lay down additional rules for the application of the second subparagraph including the repeal of exemptions provided for in the first subparagraph, where it is of the opinion that the affiliation of new institutions benefiting from the arrangements laid down in the second subparagraph might have an adverse effect on competition. The Council shall decide by a qualified majority.

A credit institution which, as defined in the first subparagraph of paragraph 5, is affiliated to a central body in the same Member State may also be exempted from the provisions of Article 5, and also Articles 40 to 51, and 65 provided that, without prejudice to the application of those provisions to the central body, the whole as constituted by the central body together with its affiliated institutions is subject to the abovementioned provisions a consolidated basis.

In case of exemption, Articles 13, 18, 19, 20(1) to (6), 21 and 22 shall apply to the whole as constituted by the central body together with its affiliated institutions.