PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Pedro Cassiano Santos, Francisca César Machado, Chen Chen and Natalia Fedorova, VdA
others; (iii) portfolio management on behalf of others; (iii) services and activities involving underwriting and placement with a guarantee, or placement without a guarantee; (iv) trading on own account; (v) investment advice; (vi) man - agement of a multilateral trading facility; and (vii) management of an organised trading facility. In Portugal, in addition to authorisation by Ban - co de Portugal, registration with the Portuguese Securities Market Commission is required for financial intermediation activities. This additional registration is a case of gold-plating, making the process more time-consuming. Furthermore, in relation to the issuance, offer to the public, and admission to trading of crypto- assets or the provision of services related to crypto-assets, credit institutions shall observe the requirements established by MiCA (Regula - tion (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023), notably the European Union credit institutions – passport To commence activities in Portugal, a notifica - tion from the home member state’s competent authority to the Banco de Portugal is required. European Union credit institutions – branch in Portugal Before a branch can be established in Portugal, Banco de Portugal must receive a detailed notifi - cation from the home member state’s competent authority. Once this notification is received, Banco de Por - tugal has two months to establish the supervi - sion framework for the branch in relevant areas. After this period, Banco de Portugal will notify the credit institution that it can proceed with the required notification. European Passport
establishment of its branch, specifying any con - ditions for its operation in Portugal required by public interest. If no notification is received within two months, the branch can be established and may start its activities after completing the relevant registra - tion process. Portuguese credit institutions – passport A Portuguese credit institution that intends to start operations in another member state of the European Union must previously notify Banco de Portugal, detailing the activities it plans to carry out in that member state. Banco de Portugal will then notify the host member state’s competent authority within one month, certifying that the proposed operations/ activities fall within the scope of the credit insti - tution’s authorisation in Portugal. Under the Legal Framework of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, a qualifying holding is a direct or indirect holding: (i) representing a per - centage of not less than 10% of the share capital or voting rights of the institution in question; or (ii) for any reason, allowing for the exercise of significant influence over the management of the institution. An assessment of the good repute of the own - ers or potential owners of qualifying holdings is required and is carried out by the ECB or, if the institutions in question are not part of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, by Banco de Portugal. 3. Changes in Control 3.1 Requirements for Acquiring or Increasing Control Over a Bank Qualifying Holding
493 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook