In accordance with Section 1 para. 1 sentence no. 2 of the German Banking Act (KWG), lending business is defined as the granting of money loans and acceptance credits.
According to the BaFin guidance note on lending business dated 8 January 2009 (updated as of 2 May 2016), a money loan is governed by a loan agreement under private law within the meaning of Section 488 of the German Civil Code (BGB) or a comparable agreement under foreign law. According to BaFin, a money loan is already granted with the conclusion of a pre-contractual agreement regarding the loan. The decisive factor is whether the loan agreements have as their object the repayment of funds.
In the case of an acceptance credit within the meaning of Section 1 para. 1 sentence 2 no. 2 2nd alternative KWG, the customer as the issuer draws a bill of exchange or cheque on the credit institution; the credit institution accepts the bill of exchange and is therefore obliged to redeem it on the due date (see the BaFin guidance note on lending business dated 8 January 2009, updated as of 2 May 2016).