Knowledge
25 Minute
Direct answer: CRD6 is primarily aimed at banks from third countries, not directly at investors or entrepreneurs. For customers, this does not automatically create an account change or a new personal duty. The directive becomes relevant where a banking relationship, financing or international corporate structure depends on a bank outside the EU. Then the specific service, the country, the national implementation and the treaty situation count.
CRD6 is Directive (EU) 2024/1619. It establishes a European supervisory framework for branches of certain third-country banks. The substance of the matter is that third-country banks should in principle establish an authorised branch in the respective Member State for the banking services concerned within the EU. The directive does not affect every financial service and does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
What CRD6 Actually Regulates
CRD6 extends the Capital Requirements Directive for credit institutions. The focus is on banks based outside the EU, for example in Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the USA. The rules concern access to the EU market, the authorisation, supervision and organisation of its branches.
Article 21c of the Directive lays down the general rule for certain banking activities: a Member State shall require the third-country undertaking to establish a branch and apply for authorisation in its own territory. The rule shall be based on the activities covered by Article 47. Therefore, it would be wrong to derive from CRD6 a blanket statement about all asset management, securities offerings or existing customer contracts.
The directive also provides for an exception for customers who address a third-country bank on their own initiative. Whether this exception applies in a specific situation belongs to the examination by licensed professionals and the responsible bank. Advertising, active addressing or an already structured distribution channel can change the evaluation.
What Investors Should Know Now
For private investors, the first question is not: Do I have to act immediately? But: Which bank service do I actually use and via which legal entity? A custodian, a loan, a deposit or an asset management relationship can be organised differently. A group based outside the EU may already operate through an EU bank, a subsidiary or an authorised branch.
CRD6 does not automatically require existing assets to be transferred. It also does not directly change the ownership of a customer. However, changes may result from implementation in the individual Member State, from supervisory decisions of the bank or from contract communication. Anyone who receives a notification should assign it to the specific contractual relationship and should not infer its own legal consequence from a heading.
These documents provide guidance first
- Counterparty and seat of the specific banking unit
- Type of service used, such as account, credit, custodian or financing
- Bank communication on a possible change of unit
- applicable contractual conditions and contact persons
- for larger assets, the technical assessment of the consequences
What Entrepreneurs Should Consider
Entrepreneurs affect CRD6 mainly indirectly. Critical can be a dependence on a third-country bank, such as credit lines, cash management, accounts of a foreign company, collateral or complex corporate structures. The regulatory framework does not determine the quality of a corporate structure. However, it can make visible whether the bank, business model, contract paths and actual place of management fit together.
Especially with cross-border structures, a bank account is not a subsequent detail. A company with an address abroad, while decisions, documents and operational control are elsewhere, will not be responsive to CRD6 or a new account number. The practical focus is on comprehensible responsibility, substance, documentation and bankable processes.
When a foundation in Liechtenstein or a cooperative can help
A foundation in Liechtenstein can create a clear framework for long-term asset or succession planning: The founder devotes assets to a fixed purpose and determines the beneficiaries. This can separate ownership, responsibilities and decision-making processes cleaner. For a bank, however, the foundation does not replace the examination of the beneficial persons, nor the examination of origin, purpose, tax consequences or documentation.
A cooperative may fit if several individuals or companies pursue common economic interests in common self-help. It can make roles, membership, contributions and joint processes binding. For a single banking relationship, it is not a standard solution. It only helps if the purpose, members, actual activity and the required bank documentation match.
In connection with CRD6, both legal forms do not solve banking regulation. But you can help answer the bank’s questions clearly: Who holds what values? Who decides? What is the purpose behind the structure? Which contracts and documents prove the actual activity? The legal, tax and banking examination belongs to each specific structure to approved professionals and the participating bank.
Budapest Tools: The Practical Decision Path
The Budapest tools are not legal instruments. They help to find the right order before a professional examination.
1. Make the banking relationship visible
Which legal entity provides which service? Which countries are involved? Are there any contracts, collateral, powers of attorney or accounts based on a particular banking structure? A simple overview prevents an operational question from being wrongly treated as a purely legal question.
2. Evaluating dependency
A third-country bank used may be interchangeable for day-to-day operations or play a central role in financing and payments. Only after this distinction can it be decided whether a conversation with the bank is sufficient or whether a robust plan for alternatives is necessary.
3. Check structure and bankability together
In the case of a holding company, foreign company or succession planning, property, operational risks, place of management, accounting and bankability belong on the same checklist. The Budapester arranges these points, coordinates participants and prepares documents and timing. The legal and tax assessment is carried out by licensed professionals.
4. Only then make decisions
A change of account, a new company or a change of country is not a standard response to CRD6. Decisive are the actual purpose, the service concerned and the feasibility. The The Budapester’s methodology helps to bring the goal, documents, technical examination and implementation into a clean order.
Why implementation should be monitored further
CRD6 is an EU directive. The details of their application also result from the transposition in the Member States and from supervisory technical standards. In March 2026, the European Banking Authority published its final report on reporting requirements for third country branches. This is the first reporting reference date for 31. March 2027 is planned. This concerns the regulatory reporting of branches, not directly the private tax or investment decision of a customer.
A sober point follows from this development: Anyone who has a relevant banking relationship should follow official banking communications and national implementation. Those who do not have such dependence do not need to derive a rash structural decision from CRD6.
Where the professional examination is required
A professional review is required when a bank announces concrete changes to the contract, when significant assets or financing are affected or when an international corporate structure is rebuilt. The distinction between banking services, investment services and other financial services is also a legal point. Norbert Péter is not a lawyer or a tax consultant.
The Budapester coordinates structures, documents, paths and experts involved. For a first ordered overview, a Structure Check an. In the case of a concrete construction, Services and Setup on the next steps.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2024/1619 in the Official Journal of the European Union
- European Banking Authority on reporting requirements for third country branches, 5. March 2026
- Liechtenstein Regional Administration to the Foundation
- Liechtenstein Land Administration to the Cooperative
Legal delimitation: This contribution serves the entrepreneurial orientation. It is not a right, tax or investment advice. The evaluation of specific contracts, supervisory obligations and consequences belongs to licensed lawyers, tax consultants or other competent professionals.
