By Charlotte GAUCHON
30 June 2025
Last updated: 25 March 2026 A credit institution is an authorised legal entity whose main business is to receive repayable funds from the public and to grant credit for its own account. Article L. 511-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code refers to the European CRR Regulation (no. 575/2013, art. 4, § 1, point 1) for this definition. This definition has far-reaching consequences: a banking monopoly, compulsory authorisation, permanent supervision and strict prudential ratios. This guide sets out the full legal framework. Credit institutions: a European definition transposed into French law For a long time, the concept of credit institution was governed solely by national law. The Banking Act of 24 January 1984 laid the foundations. European law has gradually absorbed it: since the CRR regulation of 26 June 2013, the definition is directly applicable in all Member States, without the need for transposition. Two elements...
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