Licence application

Factsheet

Read aloud

Any party wanting to pursue the business of a bank in the Netherlands that is not exempted by law must hold the appropriate licence from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Published: 20 January 2022

Submission of an application

You can submit your application through the IMAS 1 Portal of the ECB. You will need to register on the ECB website to use this Portal.

Be sure to complete the application form fully and truthfully and make sure to enclose all the required documents.

Working language is English

The ECB issues the final decision on your application. Communications on your application will be largely through DNB. The application form is available in English only. Correspondence is also in English.

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

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

Footnotes

[1] I nformation MA nagement System for the S ingle Supervisory Mechanism.

Discover related articles

Factsheet

Market access

Banks

Share:

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

Necessary cookies

To ensure the proper operation of the website, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) uses functional cookies and analytics cookies, and has taken measures to ensure that these cookies have little or no impact on the privacy of website users.

Optional cookies

Some pages include embedded content from external websites. These websites may use proprietary (tracking) cookies. This allows third parties to track visitor statistics, show personalised content and display targeted ads, for example.

You can make your choice about allowing these optional cookies both when you first visit the website and when you navigate to a page with embedded content.