According to Section 2 (10) of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), the term investment services providers (Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen – WpDU) includes:
- Credit institutions within the meaning of § 1 para. 1 German Banking Act (KWG)
- Financial services institutions within the meaning of § 1 para. 1a German Banking Act (KWG) and
- Companies operating pursuant to section 53 (1) sentence 1 of the German Banking Act (branches in Germany of companies domiciled abroad if they conduct banking business or provide financial services),
who provide investment services alone or together with ancillary investment services on a professional basis or to an extent that requires a business operation set up in a commercial manner.