Activities requiring a licence — DNB — NL

Factsheet

Read aloud

Any party wanting to pursue the business of a bank in the Netherlands must hold the appropriate licence. Except where a statutory exception to the licence requirement exists.

Published: 01 April 2017

If your institution intends to develop activities as included in the definition of a bank, you require a licence if your institution also pursues the business of a bank.

Pursuing the business of

A person or entity is taken to pursue the business of a bank - taking deposits or other repayable funds from the public and granting credits for its own account - if these activities are "separately identifiable" and do not serve only to support other principal activities.

If an entity's principal activities are non-financial, for instance inviting funds to support its own business, this entity does not "pursue the business of" the taking of funds or the granting of credits and therefore does not constitute a bank. This does not apply if the entity's principal activities are financial, as this always qualifies as "pursuing the business of".

Information licence application for a bank

Licence as a bank - overview

License or no license

Definition of a bank

Activities requiring a licence

Exemption from licence requirement: central corporate treasuries

Full licence and partial licence

Licence application

Application process (12 steps)

Application process timeline

Application fees

Application success factors

Background information

PSD2

Prohibition on operating as a bank without a licence

Dispensation from prohibition on takingrepayable funds

Public register

Foreign banks

Statutory framework governing market access for banks

Discover related articles

Factsheet

Market access

Banks

Share on LinkedIn

Share on X

Share on Facebook

Share via Email

Interesting articles

Prudential rules do not hinder bank financing for EU priorities

17 July 2026

News item supervision

Europe faces historic investment challenges, in which banks will play an important financing role. Prudential requirements strengthen banks’ resilience, without posing a major obstacle to their financing. Unlocking more private finance requires better risk-sharing and deeper financial integration.

Read more
Prudential rules do not hinder bank financing for EU priorities

News item supervision

17 July 2026

DNB Inhouse Day for the Dutch banking sector: financial crime supervision

16 July 2026

News item supervision

Following last year’s successful event, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) will again host an Inhouse Day for AML/CFT professionals in the Dutch banking sector. The event is designed to encourage dialogue and provide further insight into DNB’s AML/CFT supervision.

Read more
DNB Inhouse Day for the Dutch banking sector: financial crime supervision

News item supervision

16 July 2026

Fine for ABN AMRO Bank N.V. for inadequate customer due diligence for high-risk customers

09 July 2026

Enforcement measures

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) imposed an administrative fine of €8.5 million on ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (ABN AMRO) on 6 July 2026 due to serious shortcomings in its anti-money laundering controls in the period from September 2023 through September 2024.

Read more
Fine for ABN AMRO Bank N.V. for inadequate customer due diligence for high-risk customers

Enforcement measures

09 July 2026

De Nederlandsche Bank publishes ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus 2026’

25 June 2026

News item supervision

In the third edition of ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus’ (ISF), we share the key insights from our integrity supervision.

Read more
De Nederlandsche Bank publishes ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus 2026’

News item supervision

25 June 2026