Licence

(1) The establishment of an exchange requires the written licence of the exchange supervisory authority.
(2) The application for the grant of the licence must be transmitted electronically to the exchange supervisory authority. The electronic transmission must take place in a data format and by a transmission route determined by the exchange supervisory authority. The application must contain: 1. suitable evidence of the means required for exchange operations under section 5(5), 2. the names of the managers and of the members of the management or supervisory body of the exchange operator, and the particulars required to assess the requirements under sections 4a and 4b, 3. a business plan showing the nature of the intended business and the organisational structure and the intended internal control procedures of the operator of the exchange, together with the exchange's rulebook, 4. particulars of the ownership structure of the operator of the exchange, in particular the holders of significant holdings within the meaning of section 6(6) and the size of their holdings, and 5. the particulars required to assess the reliability of the holders of significant holdings; where the holder of a significant holding is a legal person or a commercial partnership, the facts material to assessing the reliability of its statutory or constitutional representatives or personally liable partners must be stated. The exchange supervisory authority may require additional particulars, insofar as necessary to examine whether the applicant ensures compliance with the provisions of this Act. Where the managers of the operator of the exchange are managers of a regulated market, the applicant may dispense with the particulars under the third sentence, nos. 2 and 5 in respect of those persons.
(3) The licence must in particular be refused where 1. evidence of the means required for exchange operations is not provided, 2. facts exist showing that one of the persons named in subsection (2), third sentence, no. 2 does not satisfy the requirements under sections 4a and 4b, 3. facts justify the assumption that the holder of a significant holding or, where the holder is a legal person, also a statutory or constitutional representative, or, where the holder is a commercial partnership, also a partner, is not reliable, or otherwise fails to meet the requirements to be placed, in the interest of a sound and prudent management of the operator of an exchange; in case of doubt this also applies where facts justify the assumption that they have raised the funds contributed by an act objectively fulfilling the elements of a criminal offence, or 4. the documents submitted by the applicant give rise to serious doubts as to its ability to satisfy the requirements arising from this Act for the operation of the exchange.
(4) The licence lapses where it is not used within one year of its grant.
(5) The exchange supervisory authority may, apart from under the provisions of the administrative procedure acts of the Länder, revoke the licence where 1. the exchange operations to which the licence relates have not been carried on for more than six months, 2. facts become known to it that would justify refusal of the licence under subsection (3), or 3. the exchange or the operator of the exchange has persistently infringed provisions of this Act or of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 or of Articles 4 and 15 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2365, or the regulations or orders issued to implement those Acts. The provisions of Land law corresponding to section 48(4), first sentence and section 49(2), second sentence of the Administrative Procedure Act do not apply.
(5a) The exchange supervisory authority may attach conditions to the licence, insofar as necessary to ensure the licensing requirements. The subsequent imposition of conditions, or the subsequent amendment or supplementation of existing conditions, is permissible under the conditions of the first sentence.
(6) The Land governments are empowered to determine in more detail, by statutory instrument, the type, extent, time and form of the particulars to be given and documents to be submitted under subsection (2). The Land government may transfer this authorisation, by statutory instrument, to the exchange supervisory authority.
(7) The exchange operator must notify the exchange supervisory authority without delay of a change of the persons in management, and of material changes to the particulars given under subsection (2), third sentence, nos. 1 to 5. Subsection (2), fourth and fifth sentences apply accordingly.