Frankfurt and Paris
Frankfurt and Paris host most of the financial supervisors of the European Union between them. The European Central Bank, its banking supervision, EIOPA and AMLA sit in Frankfurt, while the securities regulator ESMA and the European Banking Authority EBA sit in Paris. Direct ICE and TGV trains of Deutsche Bahn and SNCF connect the two cities in about four hours.
For a fintech or bank from Paris, Frankfurt is the financial center of Germany, the largest economy of the EU. A firm licensed by the AMF or the ACPR in France needs no second license for Germany, because EU passporting lets it serve German clients once its French supervisor has notified BaFin.
EU supervisors in Frankfurt and Paris
The European Securities and Markets Authority started work in Paris on 1 January 2011, and Verena Ross from Germany has chaired it since November 2021. The EBA moved from Canary Wharf in London to the Europlaza tower in La Défense after Brexit and has worked fully from Paris since 3 June 2019. ESMA keeps the EU register of crypto firms licensed under MiCA, and the EBA writes the rules for stablecoins and supervises the largest of them.
Frankfurt has the third European supervisory authority, the insurance and pensions authority EIOPA. Banks in the euro area answer to ECB Banking Supervision in Frankfurt, and in 2024 the EU chose the city as the seat of its new authority against money laundering, the AMLA in Frankfurt.
Pontes: Bundesbank and Banque de France
From May to November 2024, 64 market participants tested blockchain settlement in central bank money with three Eurosystem solutions: Trigger from the Bundesbank, TIPS Hash-Link from the Banca d'Italia and DL3S from the Banque de France. Pontes combines the three into one service, and its initial launch took place on 21 September 2026.
Pontes links DLT platforms with T2, the payment system of the Eurosystem, so that trades on those platforms settle in euro central bank money. A bank in Germany reaches Pontes through the Bundesbank, and a bank in France reaches it through the Banque de France.
From a French license to German clients
A French bank, payment institution or investment firm can serve clients in Germany under its French license, by branch or across the border. The firm notifies its supervisor in Paris, which passes the notification to BaFin, and BaFin then supervises how the firm treats German clients. The rules of EU passporting set the time limits for each step.
Crypto firms follow the same logic under MiCA, where the AMF grants the authorization in France. France ended its transitional period on 1 July 2026, and the ESMA interim register of 18 October 2026 lists 36 crypto-asset service providers with France as home member state. Each of them can reach German clients through that notification, and the AMF white lists under MiCA name every one with its services.
Finance Loop in Paris
On 3 June 2026 Finance Loop and Finteda held AI in Finance Paris at Harvest Group in Puteaux near La Défense. Practitioners from BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Berenberg and Databricks spoke there about applied AI in finance.
The Paris conference formerly known as Paris Blockchain Week continues as Signal Week, with its 2027 edition on 6 and 7 July 2027 at the Palais des Congrès. The financial center association Paris Europlace is the French counterpart of Frankfurt Main Finance.
Upcoming finance and fintech events in Frankfurt and Europe
Where are ESMA and the EBA in Paris?
ESMA has its offices at 201-203 rue de Bercy in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, close to the Gare de Lyon. The EBA works in the Europlaza building at 20 Avenue André Prothin in the business district of La Défense, west of the city center.
Does a French fintech need a German license?
A French fintech with a license from the ACPR or the AMF needs no German license, because the EU passport covers Germany. It has to notify its French supervisor before it starts, and for German clients it follows the German rules on conduct and consumer protection that BaFin supervises.
Frankfurt contacts for teams from Paris
Finance Loop is a professional network for emerging technologies in finance with more than 4,000 members, built in collaboration with Frankfurt Main Finance and TechQuartier. Finance Loop events in Frankfurt bring visitors from Paris together with banks, asset managers, supervisors and fintechs in Germany.
A team from Paris can join a Finance Loop delegation to events such as Frankfurt Digital Finance and get personal introductions from the Finance Loop team. Anyone working in finance, IT or AI can sign up for the free Network Membership.
Frankfurt, Paris and Finance Loop
Finance Loop runs its events in Frankfurt and held AI in Finance Paris together with Finteda in 2026, so its members meet in both cities. Teams from Paris can meet Finance Loop members at events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, tokenization, stablecoins, and DeFi. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.