This royal decree on the legal regime of electronic money institutions addresses the need to complete the incorporation into Spanish law of Directive 2000 /46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 of September 2000, on the access to the business of electronic money institutions and their exercise as well as the prudential supervision of electronic money institutions. This royal decree, which is essentially configured as a procedural rule, is structured around the following elements:

Legal framework for the creation of electronic money institutions (EDE).

Prudential supervision regime. Limitation of activities and obligation to make certain investments. Exemption scheme.

Chapter I refers to general provisions and introduces the subject, referring to the scope and activities of EDE, issues already established by Article 21 of the Law of the European Union. 44/2002, of 22 November, of measures to reform the financial system.

It should be recalled that the Royal Decree of Law 1298/1986 of 28 June on the adaptation of the existing law on credit institutions to that of the European Communities, conceptualizes EDE as credit institutions. Hence Chapter II, in establishing the system for the creation of EDE, essentially responds to the scheme of the procedures already provided for the other credit institutions: reservation of names, activities, requirements for the establishment of the entity, documents to contain the requests for creation, in particular all those referring to the suitability and good repute of the administrative posts and the mechanisms of good internal management and prevention of money laundering. However, irrespective of the similarities in the procedure for the authorisation of the EDE with other credit institutions, this royal decree provides for the special characteristics of these new entities with a differentiated regime in a good number of aspects. The specificities of EDE are established by virtue of a double characteristic which seeks to achieve the maximum degree of balance in the treatment of these entities in relation to other credit institutions. On the one hand, minor requirements relating to prudential supervision are laid down, such as a minor initial minimum capital or non-compliance with certain provisions of the banking rules, while, on the other hand, the activities such as such are limited. institutions can carry out and impose a system of compulsory investments in certain assets. Although the bulk of the prudential rules of credit institutions are applied to electronic money institutions, from those relating to the good administrative and accounting organisation to the procedures for the prevention of money laundering, (a) the obligations to which they are subject are less onerous than those of the whole of the credit institutions. These institutions are not obliged to meet the requirements of the deposit regulation, since the funds are expected to be exchanged immediately for electronic money. For the same reason they would only be required to benefit from a deposit guarantee scheme if the support to which the electronic money was incorporated was nominative, or when the receipt of the funds exchanged for electronic money was linked to a representative account of a deposit constituted by its holder. In addition, these institutions are required to have an initial capital of at least one million euro and permanent own funds equal to or greater than 2% of the balance of their financial liabilities arising from electronic money issued in the average of the balance in the six months preceding the preceding six months, if the latter amount is higher. The verification of these calculations and those corresponding to the limitations on the investment, will be carried out through the timely verification that the Banco de España will perform at least twice a year, based on the information it considers required. In addition, institutions will have to inform the Banco de España of its capital structure and especially of the presence in the shareholders of other financial institutions and shareholders with percentages exceeding 2 ' 5% of the share capital. In any case, these electronic money institutions, as credit institutions, are subject to the supervision and control of their activity by the Banco de España. In the same sense, this royal decree includes the enabling of the Bank to dictate the necessary implementing rules for the proper exercise of those supervisory and control functions that are proper to the Bank in relation to the credit institutions. Chapter III sets out the limitation of investments. The other side of the currency of the EDE's system of creation and exercise of activity is set up by the set of limitations to which these entities are subject, in order to ensure fair treatment in relation to the other institutions. credit institutions, as well as the proper safeguarding of financial stability. These limitations are substantially two: limitations on the activity, as set out in Chapter I, and limitations or obligations on certain investments. Thus, the EDE will have to make a series of compulsory investments in a certain set of assets and hence be placed under the heading of "investment constraints". They shall invest an amount not less than their financial obligations arising from electronic money in circulation either in assets with a credit risk weight of 0 per cent and a sufficient degree of liquidity, or in deposits with the (a) view of credit institutions in certain countries, provided that these States do not reescalate their external public debt or in certain debt instruments that comply with the requirements set out in the royal decree. The last two investment groups shall not exceed the amount of the institution's own funds by 20 times and shall be subject to the same limitations as the other credit institutions. Finally, the scheme for the use of derived products by the EDE is envisaged, in the interests of the coverage of market risks. In line with these forecasts, the Banco de España may impose the limitations it deems appropriate to the market risks in relation to the investments that the entities make in the first group of assets. The valuation of assets shall be carried out in accordance with the criteria established by the Bank of Spain. Chapter IV develops the exemption regime. A unique feature of the EDE legal regime is the provision for exemption from compliance with certain provisions for those entities that meet the expected characteristics. Of the three exemptions set out in Directive 2000/46, Law 44/2002 of 22 November 2002 on measures to reform the financial system provides for one of them to be used in the exercise of the national option. Only entities that issue electronic money that is accepted as a means of payment only by any subsidiary of the entity that performs operational or other functions may be exempted from some of the provisions of the royal decree. ancillary functions relating to electronic money issued or distributed by the institution, by the parent undertaking of the institution or by any subsidiary of that parent undertaking. The royal decree provides, in any case, the need to set up an EDE to benefit from an exemption. In any case, this circumstance will be reflected in the Special Register of Electronic Money Entities of the Banco de España, and only excludes entities exempted from the limitations to the activity foreseen in the royal decree, of the the minimum initial capital requirements of EUR 1 million and the level of own funds and, finally, the limitations on investments referred to in Article 11 of that Regulation. The justification for this differentiated regime is based on the limited scope of these entities, and as a necessary corollary to their special status, they do not have the knowledge as a Community passport, and must inform its operations to the supervisor. Finally, Chapter V establishes the system of penalties and supervision of the activity of electronic money institutions. The sanctioning regime is established, certain causes of revocation of the authorisation to act as EDE or to do so under the exemption regime. The single additional provision provides for the possible transformation of an entity into a bank by the procedure already provided for credit unions and credit financial institutions for the additional provision fourth of the Royal Decree 1245/1995 of 14 July 1995 on the establishment of banks, cross-border activities and other matters relating to the legal status of credit institutions. The royal decree is dictated by the powers conferred on the State by Article 149. 1.6. ª. 11 and 13. and by virtue of the empowerment granted to the Government by Article 21 9 of Law 44/2002 of 22 November of measures to reform the financial system to develop the legal regime applicable to the creation and conditions of the for the exercise of the EDE's activities and, in particular, for the establishment of its minimum initial capital, the requirements for permanent own resources, the investment regime, and the limitations to its commercial activities. In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Economy and Finance, with the prior approval of the Minister of Public Administrations, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of February 29, 2008, D I S P O N G O:

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Scope of application.

1. They shall have the consideration of electronic money institutions other than those defined in Article 1 (1) (a) of the Royal Decree-Law 1298/1986 of 28 June 1986 on the adjustment of the existing law on the credit institutions of the European Communities, whose main activity is to issue means of payment in the form of electronic money, in the terms set out in this royal decree.

2. Electronic money shall mean the monetary value represented by a claim payable to its issuer:

a) Stored on an electronic media.

b) Issued upon receipt of funds of an amount whose value shall not be less than the issued monetary value. (c) Accepted as a means of payment by companies other than the issuer.

3. This royal decree will not apply to the Banco de España, or to the Instituto de Crédito Oficial, nor to the credit institutions defined in Article 1 (1) (a) of Royal Decree-Law 1298/1986 of 28 June on the adaptation of the existing law in (a) the subject of credit institutions to that of the European Communities.

Article 2. Activities.

1. The commercial activities of electronic money institutions other than the issuance of electronic money shall be limited to the following: (a) the provision of financial and non-financial services closely related to the issuance of money; electronic, such as the management of electronic money by the exercise of operational functions and other ancillary functions in relation to its issuance, and the issuance and management of other means of payment, excluding the granting of any form of credit; and

b) the storage of information in electronic support on behalf of other companies or public bodies. An electronic money institution may not have an interest in other undertakings except where the latter exercise operational functions or other additional functions in relation to the electronic money issued or distributed by the electronic money institution. entity in question.

2. The issuance of electronic money, when the support to which it is incorporated is a nominee, or when the receipt of funds exchanged for electronic money is linked to a representative account of a deposit constituted by its holder, it may only be performed by the entities attached to a deposit guarantee system.

CHAPTER II

Legal framework for the creation of electronic money institutions

Article 3. Reservation of name.

The denomination of "Electronic Money Entities", as well as its abbreviation E. D. E., will be reserved for these entities, which will be obliged to include it in their social denomination.

Article 4. Authorisation and registration of electronic money institutions.

1. It will be up to the Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance, following a report by the Bank of Spain and the Executive Service of the Commission on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Violations in the aspects of their competition, to authorize the creation of electronic money institutions.

2. The application for authorisation must be settled in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.2 of Royal Decree 692/1996 of 26 April 1996 on the legal status of credit institutions. 3. Once the authorization has been obtained and after its incorporation and registration in the Commercial Registry, the electronic money institutions must, before starting their activities, be registered in the Special Register of Electronic Money Entities. which will be created at the Banco de España. Where an electronic money institution benefits from an exemption under Article 12, such a circumstance shall be reflected in this Special Register. The entries in the Special Register, as well as the losses of the Special Register, shall be published in the "Official State Gazette" and shall be communicated to the European Commission. 4. The authorisation granted in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall lapse if the authorised activities are not commenced within 12 months of the date of notification of the authorization, for reasons attributable to the person concerned.

Article 5. Authorisation of electronic money institutions under foreign control.

1. The creation of Spanish electronic money institutions whose control, in accordance with the terms of Article 4 of Law 24/1988, of 28 July, of the Securities Market, will be exercised by foreign persons, is subject to the effect on this royal decree.

2. Where the control of the Spanish electronic money institution is to be carried out by a credit institution, an investment firm or an insurance or reinsurance undertaking authorised in another Member State of the Union European, by the dominant entity of one of those entities or by the same natural or legal persons controlling a credit institution, an investment firm or an insurance or reinsurance undertaking authorised in another State Member, the Bank of Spain, before issuing the report referred to in Article 4.1, shall consult the authorities responsible for the supervision of the credit institution, investment firm or insurance undertaking or foreign reinsurer. 3. Where the control of the electronic money institution is to be exercised by one or more persons, whether or not credit institutions, domiciled or authorised in a non-Member State of the European Union, it shall require the provision of a Guarantee that it reaches all the activities of that entity. The authorization may be refused, in addition to the other reasons provided for in this Royal Decree, when it would have been communicated to Spain, in accordance with the provisions of Article 43.3 of Law 26/1988 of 29 July on Discipline and Intervention by the Credit Institutions, a decision taken by the Council of the European Union when it is established that Community credit institutions do not benefit in that State from a treatment which offers the same conditions of competition as their national entities and that the conditions for effective access to the market are not met.

Article 6. Requirements for exercising the activity of an electronic money institution.

1. They shall be necessary to obtain and retain the authorization of an electronic money institution: (a) To have its registered office and its effective administration and management in Spanish territory.

b) Revestir the form of a public limited company constituted by the procedure of simultaneous and indefinite foundation. (c) have a minimum share capital of one million euro, fully subscribed, paid in full in cash and represented by nominative shares. (d) the statutory limitation of their social object to the activities of an electronic money institution. (e) shareholders holding significant shares are deemed to be eligible, in accordance with the terms of Article 8. f) Contar with a board of directors consisting of no less than three members. All members of the board of directors of the institution, as well as those of the governing board of its dominant entity where it exists, shall be persons of recognised commercial and professional repute and shall have at least three of the following: members of each of the appropriate councils, knowledge and experience to perform their duties. Such good repute and experience must also be included in the general or similar directors of the institution and its parent, where it exists, as well as in the natural persons representing the legal persons who are members. Commercial and professional honorability in those who have been observing a personal trajectory of respect to the commercial laws or others that regulate the economic activity and the life of the business, as well as to the good practices commercial, financial and banking. In any event, it will be understood that they lack such good repute who, in Spain or abroad, have a criminal record for intentional crimes, are disabled for public office or administrative or management of financial institutions. or are disabled in accordance with Law 22/2003 of 9 July, Insolvency, until the period of disablement fixed in the judgment of qualification of the contest has been completed and those who have been broken and are not rehabilitated in proceedings (a) to the effect of the entry into force of this Law. They have adequate knowledge and experience to perform their duties on electronic money institutions who have performed, for a period of not less than two years, senior management, management, control or advisory functions. financial institutions or functions of similar responsibility in other entities, public or private, with a dimension at least analogous to the entity intended to be created. The Management Board shall have in place appropriate operating rules and procedures to enable all its members to be able to meet at all times the obligations which correspond to them in accordance with the rules of organisation and the discipline of electronic money institutions and the rest of the applicable legislation. (g) a good administrative and accounting organisation, as well as adequate internal control procedures to ensure the sound and prudent management of the institution. They shall be responsible for the financial and non-financial risks to which such institutions are exposed, including technical and procedural risks, as well as those arising from their cooperation with any undertaking performing functions. operational or other ancillary functions of the commercial activities performed by them. (h) Contar with appropriate internal control and communication procedures and bodies to prevent and prevent the conduct of money laundering related operations under the conditions laid down in Articles 11 and 12 of the Regulation of Law 19/1993 of 28 December 1993 on certain measures for the prevention of money laundering, adopted by Royal Decree 925/1995 of 9 June.

2. Electronic money institutions must comply at all times with the requirements laid down in this Article and in particular that of having their own funds, as defined in Article 7 of Law 13/1985 of 25 May, of Coefficient de Investment, Own Resources and Information Obligations of Financial Intermediaries, not less than those set out in point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article.

3. The own funds of electronic money institutions shall be, on a permanent basis, equal to or greater than 2% of the balance of their financial liabilities arising from the electronic money issued in circulation or the average of that balance during the preceding six months, if the latter amount is higher. The Bank of Spain shall determine the calculation of these measures. 4. Where an institution has not completed the first six months of business, including the day of its commencement, its own funds shall be, on a permanent basis, equal to or greater than 2% of the balance of its derivative financial liabilities. the electronic money issued in circulation or the balance which is expected to be reached at the end of the first six months of business, if the latter amount is higher. This balance, which is expected to be achieved, shall be the balance in its programme of activities, or the amount resulting from the adjustments required for that programme. 5. The Bank of Spain is responsible for the creation and management of a High Charge Register of electronic money institutions, where the directors, general managers and similar directors must be registered. For the registration in the Register of High Charges, the directors and directors general or assimilated shall expressly declare in the document that they accredit their acceptance of the charge that they meet the requirements of good repute and, if necessary, (a) the professional competence referred to in this Article, and that there are no incourses in any of the limitations or incompatibilities that apply to them. 6. The Bank of Spain also has the responsibility for the creation and management of a register of directors and directors-general of the dominant entities of electronic money institutions, other than credit institutions, services companies of investment or insurance or reinsurance undertakings, in which members, directors and persons who are assimilated to them must be registered. The same procedure as provided for in the previous paragraph shall be followed for the entry in that register.

Article 7. Requirements of the application.

1. The application for authorisation for the creation of an electronic money institution shall be sent to the Directorate-General for the Treasury and Financial Policy in triplicate together with the following documents: (a) Draft social statutes accompanied by a negative registration of the proposed social name.

(b) a programme of activities in which it shall specify in a specific manner the type of operations to be carried out, the administrative and accounting organisation, the internal control procedures to be established to ensure the sound and prudent management of the institution, as well as the procedures and internal control and communication bodies to be established to prevent and prevent the conduct of money laundering related operations. The programme shall also specify the balance of financial liabilities arising from electronic money issued in circulation which is intended to be reached at the end of the first six months of business. (c) Rules of Procedure of the Administrative Board. d) Rules of operation of the department or service of customer service and, where appropriate, of the client defender, in accordance with Order ECO/734/2004 of 11 March, on the departments and services of the customer and the defender of the client of financial institutions. (e) the relationship of the partners to be established by the company, with an indication of its shares in the share capital. In the case of partners with the consideration of legal persons, shares in their capital of more than 5% shall be indicated. In the case of partners who are to hold a significant participation, they shall also be provided, if they are natural persons, information on their career and professional activity, as well as on their status; if they are legal persons, provide the annual accounts and the management report, with the audit reports, if any, of the last two financial years, the composition of its administrative bodies and the detailed structure of the group to which it belongs. (f) Relation of persons to be integrated with the first board of directors and of those who have to act as general or equivalent directors, with detailed information on their career and professional activity and the corresponding duly completed honorability questionnaires. (g) Justification of having constituted the Bank of Spain in cash or in public debt, a deposit equivalent to 20 percent of the minimum social capital required.

2. In any case, during the instruction of the procedure, it will be possible for the promoters to require the promoters of any data, reports or records to be considered appropriate to verify compliance with the conditions and requirements set out in this royal decree.

3. The deposit provided for in point (g) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be released after the incorporation of the company and entered in the Special Register of the Banco de España, as well as in the event that the activities authorised within the twelve months after the date of notification of the authorization, for reasons attributable to the person concerned.

Article 8. Refusal of application.

1. The Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance shall, by means of a reasoned decision, refuse to authorise the creation of an electronic money institution where the conditions laid down in Articles 6 and 7 above are not met, and in particular, where, taking into account the need to ensure sound and prudent management of the projected entity, the suitability of the shareholders to have a significant stake in the institution is not considered appropriate. For this purpose: (a) Significant participation in an electronic money institution shall be understood to be such that it reaches, directly or indirectly, at least 5 percent of the capital or voting rights of the entity; or the one without reaching to the percentage indicated, make it possible to exert a significant influence on it.

b) The suitability will be appreciated, among other factors, depending on:

1. The commercial and professional honorability of shareholders, in the sense provided for in Article 6.1.f). This good repute shall always be presumed when the shareholders are public administrations or entities of which they are dependent.

2. The heritage resources that these shareholders have to meet the commitments they have made. 3. The transparency in the structure of the group to which the entity may eventually belong and, in general, the existence of serious difficulties in inspecting or obtaining the necessary information on the development of its activities. 4. The possibility that the institution may be exposed, inappropriately, to the risk of the non-financial activities of its promoters, or where, in the case of financial activities, the institution's stability or control may be affected by the high risk of those. 5. The possibility that the proper exercise of the supervision of the entity will be hindered by the close links that it maintains with other natural or legal persons, by the laws, regulations or administrative provisions of the a country whose right is subject to one of those natural or legal persons, or for problems relating to the application of those provisions. For these purposes, close links shall be understood to be where two or more natural or legal persons are joined by:

A control link within the meaning of Article 4 of Law 24/1988 of 28 July of the Stock Market; or

The fact that they have, directly or indirectly, or through a control link, 20 percent or more of the voting rights or capital of a company or entity.

2. The Bank of Spain shall, without prejudice to the judicial remedies against the decision taken, refuse, where appropriate, the request, and without prejudice to the judicial remedies, to be returned to the deposit provided for in Article 7.1.g. The refund will also be returned in the case of waiver of the application.

Article 9. Amendment of the statutes.

1. The amendment of the social statutes of electronic money institutions shall be subject to the authorisation and registration procedure laid down in Article 4, but the application for authorisation shall be settled within two months. following their receipt in the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy or at the time of completion of the required documentation, which may be deemed to be estimated.

2. They shall not require prior authorization, even if they must be communicated to the Banco de España, within a period of no more than 15 working days following the adoption of the relevant agreement, the amendments to the social statutes which they have for object:

a) Change of the registered office within the national territory.

b) Increase in social capital. (c) Incorporate the legal or regulatory provisions of an imperative or prohibitive nature, or comply with judicial or administrative decisions. (d) Other changes in respect of which the Directorate-General for the Treasury and Financial Policy, in response to prior consultation made by the electronic money institution concerned, has deemed it unnecessary, for its limited relevance, the processing of the authorization.

3. If the communication received, the changes in its scope as provided for in this paragraph, the Bank of Spain shall inform the parties concerned within 30 days, to review the amendments or, where appropriate, to adjust the the procedure for the authorisation of paragraph 1.

Article 10. Mergers.

The merger of an electronic money entity with another credit institution or any other company shall be authorised by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9.1, if The deadline for the resolution shall be three months.

CHAPTER III

Limiting investments

Article 11. Limitations on investment.

1. An electronic money institution shall invest for an amount not less than its financial obligations arising from electronic money in circulation only in the assets listed below: (a) cash in cash and equivalent items, exposures to central governments or central banks of the countries referred to in point (b), the European Communities or the European Central Bank or exposures explicitly guaranteed by these exposures, exposures to regional or local authorities or exposures explicitly guaranteed by these or exposures secured, to the satisfaction of the Bank of Spain, with securities issued by them, which pursuant to Articles 22 and 23 of the Royal Decree 216/2008 of 15 February of own resources of the institutions They will receive a weighting of 0% and have a sufficient degree of liquidity.

(b) deposits held in credit institutions of the Member States and the full member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the countries they have concluded Special loan agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the framework of the General Agreement on Business (AGE). Any country that rescales its sovereign foreign public debt will, however, be excluded. (c) debt instruments that meet the following requirements:

having a sufficient degree of liquidity,

which are not covered by the provisions of point (a) of this paragraph, which have a credit risk weight of 20 per cent in accordance with Section 1 of Chapter III of Title I of Royal Decree 216/2008 of 15 December 2008. (a) February, of own resources of financial institutions, and which are issued by undertakings other than those with a significant share, as defined in Article 56.1 of Law 26/1988 of 29 July on Discipline and Intervention by the Credit Entities, in the electronic money institution concerned, or which must be included in the consolidated accounts of such undertakings.

2. The investments referred to in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 may not exceed 20 times the amount of the own funds of the electronic money institution concerned and shall be subject to the limitations applicable to the institutions of credit in accordance with Chapter VIII of Title I of Royal Decree 216/2008 of 15 February 2008 on the own resources of financial institutions.

3. For the purposes of hedging the market risks arising from the issuance of electronic money and the investments referred to in paragraph 1, the electronic money institutions may use derivative financial products related to interest rates and exchange rates with a sufficient degree of liquidity, traded on organised markets subject to daily legal limits or in the case of contracts on exchange rates, with an initial maturity of 14 days or less natural. The use of derived products shall be admissible only where the market risks are fully eliminated and, as far as possible, this objective is achieved. 4. The Bank of Spain shall impose appropriate limitations on the market risks that electronic money institutions may incur as a result of the investments referred to in paragraph 1. 5. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the assets shall be valued at the cost price or, if less, at the market price. 6. If the value of the assets referred to in paragraph 1 is less than the amount of the financial obligations arising from the electronic money in circulation, the electronic money institution concerned shall take the measures without delay. appropriate to remedy that situation. To this end and only during a transitional period, the Banco de España may allow the financial obligations of the institution derived from electronic money in circulation to be supported by assets other than those referred to in the paragraph 1, for an amount not exceeding 5% of these obligations, or for the total amount of the institution's own funds in the event that this figure is lower. 7. The Banco de España shall establish the criteria for the valuation of the assets referred to in this Article.

CHAPTER IV

Exemption Regime

Article 12. Exemptions.

1. Electronic money institutions may be exempted from the application of the provisions laid down in Articles 2.1, 6.1.c), 6.1.d), 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 and 11, where the electronic money issued by the institution is accepted as a means of payment. only by any subsidiary of the institution carrying out operational functions or other ancillary functions relating to electronic money issued or distributed by the institution, by the parent undertaking of the institution or by any subsidiary of that undertaking matrix.

2. Exemption applications must be submitted to the Directorate-General for the Treasury and Financial Policy, on the basis of the assumption provided for in the previous paragraph. Such applications may be submitted together with the application for authorisation for the creation of an electronic money institution or, at any time, by authorised entities. In any event, the request for exemption shall be settled separately from the application for authorisation to create the entity 3. It shall be the responsibility of the Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance, after reporting by the Bank of Spain, to authorise the exemption scenarios, resulting in the application of the provisions of Article 4.2. The refusal shall be made in any case by means of a reasoned decision. 4. In any event, during the course of the procedure, it shall be appropriate for the promoters or the electronic money institutions to require all data, reports or records to be considered appropriate to verify compliance with the conditions and requirements. established in this royal decree. 5. The terms of the contracts entered into by the entities benefiting from an exemption shall stipulate that the electronic storage device at the disposal of the carriers for the purpose of making payments shall be subject to an amount maximum supply not exceeding EUR 150. 6. The entities to which an exemption has been granted in accordance with this Article shall forward to the Bank of Spain, at the intervals determined by it, a report on the operations carried out, including the total amount of financial obligations related to electronic money.

CHAPTER V

Sanctioning and monitoring of the activity of electronic money entities

Article 13. Sanctioning regime.

The sanctioning regime applicable to electronic money institutions, as well as, where appropriate, their managers, directors and natural or legal persons who hold, directly or indirectly, a stake in the capital or in the voting rights representing a percentage equal to or greater than 5% of the voting rights shall be as set out in Title I of Law 26/1988 of 29 July on Discipline and Intervention of Credit Entities. Article 14. Revocation of the authorisation and of the exemption. 1. The following shall be the cause of revocation of the authorization for the exercise of the activity of issuing electronic money: (a) The waiver of the authorization is expressed in an express manner.

b) Failure to comply with any of the conditions that led to the granting of the authorisation. (c) The interruption of the exercise of the activity for a period exceeding six months. (d) The penalty provided for in Article 9 (b) of Law 26/1988 of 29 July on Discipline and Intervention of Credit Entities concerning the revocation of the authorization of the entity.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph (b) above: (a) For lack of commercial or professional repute of directors or directors, the revocation shall only proceed if the persons concerned do not cease to be charged in one month from the requirement that they are The Bank of Spain is directed to them. There shall be no lack of good repute for the mere fact that, in the exercise of his office, a counsellor or director is charged or prosecuted for any of the offences referred to in Article 6.1.

(b) No revocation shall be made for insufficient own resources, if they reach at least the four fifths of the minimum social capital and the insufficiency does not last for more than 12 months.

3. The reasons for revocation of the exemption provided for in Article 12 shall be: The waiver of mode expressed to the exemption.

b. Failure to comply with any of the conditions which led to the granting of exemption 4. The Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance will be competent to agree on the revocation. 5. The decision to revoke the authorization or the exemption shall be motivated and shall be entered in the Register of Companies and in the Register of Electronic Money Entities of the Banco de España.

Article 15. Verification of specific requirements.

The Banco de España shall verify at least twice a year that the calculations justifying the fulfilment of Articles 6 and 11 are carried out either by the electronic money institutions themselves, who shall communicate them to the Bank of Spain. together with all the necessary elements of calculation, either by the Banco de España itself, using the data provided by the electronic money institutions.

Article 16. Information on the capital structure of electronic money institutions.

Regardless of the obligation laid down in Article 61.1 of Law 26/1988 of July 29 on Discipline and Intervention of Credit Entities, electronic money institutions will communicate to the Bank of Spain, in the way in which it establishes, during the month following each calendar quarter, the composition of its share capital, relating to all shareholders, which at the end of that period have the consideration of financial institutions and those which, (a) to be registered as shares representing a percentage of the share capital of the an entity equal to or greater than 2,50 per cent.

Single additional disposition. Authorisation for the transformation into banks of already constituted electronic money institutions.

The authorisation for the transformation into banks of already constituted electronic money institutions shall be granted on the same terms as are provided for the credit financial institutions by the fourth additional provision of the Royal Decree 1245/1995 of 14 July 1995 on the establishment of banks, cross-border activities and other matters relating to the legal status of credit institutions.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

Any rules of equal or lower rank shall be construed to be repealed as opposed to the provisions of this Royal Decree.

Final disposition first. Competitive titles.

This Royal Decree is dictated in accordance with the provisions of Article 149.1.6., 11. and 13. of the Constitution.

Final disposition second. Incorporation of European Union law.

By this Royal Decree the incorporation into Spanish law of Directive 2000 /46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on access to the activity of money institutions is completed. electronic and its exercise as well as the prudential supervision of such entities.

Final disposition third. Powers of development.

The Minister of Economy and Finance is empowered to dictate the rules that are necessary for the development of this royal decree.

The Bank of Spain is authorized to lay down the rules necessary for the development of the functions of supervision and control of the activity of the electronic money institutions that is attributed to it in Article 21 of Law 44/2002, of 22 November, of measures to reform the financial system, and this Royal Decree, and, in particular, to determine the information that electronic money institutions will have to send and the frequency with which they will be required to carry out such a referral.

Final disposition fourth. Entry into force.

This royal decree will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Given in Madrid, on February 29, 2008.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy and Finance, PEDRO SOLBES MIRA