For the purposes of this Directive: - "credit institution" means an undertaking whose business is to receive deposits or other repayable funds from the public and to grant credits for its own account,
- "authorization" means an instrument issued in any form by the authorities by which the right to carry on the business of a credit institution is granted,
- "branch" means a place of business which forms a legally dependent part of a credit institution and which conducts directly all or some of the operations inherent in the business of credit institutions; any number of branches set up in the same Member State by a credit institution having its head office in another Member State shall be regarded as a single branch, without prejudice to Article 4 (1),
- "own funds" means the credit institution's own capital, including items which may be treated as capital under national rules.