The notion of financial services in European Law

EU law contains no uniform definition of financial services. The broadest definition of financial services is given in Article 2(b) of the Distance Marketing of Financial Services Directive (2002/65/EC), according to which ‘financial services’ includes all banking, credit, insurance, pension, investment and payment services. An equally broad view of financial services is set out in Annex II of the Distance Selling Directive (97/7/EC) which lists, for example, banking and investment services, operations relating to dealings in futures or options, and insurance and reinsurance services. However, Article 3(1) of the directive (which excludes the application of its provisions to financial services) explicitly stipulates that this list of financial services is not exhaustive. As regards banking services, these should be considered first and foremost as comprising the services defined in Annex I of the Credit Institutions Directive (2006/48/EC). These services may be rendered by credit institutions and by financial institutions, including electronic money institutions. The services listed in Annex I of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) (2004/39/EC), which may be rendered by investment firms, must also be considered to be financial services. Financial services include payment services which may be rendered not only by credit institutions, electronic money institutions, the European Central Bank and the central banks of Member States, but also by payment institutions created under the Payment Services Directive (2007/64/EC). Insurance services, both those provided in respect to life assurance and other forms of direct insurance, as well as reinsurance services, may also be distinguished as financial services. Credit mediation services, which are now partially governed by the new Consumer Credit Directive (2008/48/EC), and insurance mediation services, governed by the Insurance Mediation Directive (2002/92/EC), also constitute financial services. Yet, in some instances, Community regulations differentiate between financial services and banking and insurance services, the latter being regarded as a separate category of activity, for example, for tax purposes.