diff --git a/src/entities/repos/institutions_repo.py b/src/entities/repos/institutions_repo.py
index 8605ce6..af25fcf 100644
--- a/src/entities/repos/institutions_repo.py
+++ b/src/entities/repos/institutions_repo.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ async def get_institutions(
     async with session.begin():
         stmt = (
             select(FinancialInstitutionDao)
+            .join(FinancialInstitutionDomainDao)
             .options(joinedload(FinancialInstitutionDao.domains))
             .limit(count)
             .offset(page * count)
@@ -30,11 +31,7 @@ async def get_institutions(
         if leis is not None:
             stmt = stmt.filter(FinancialInstitutionDao.lei.in_(leis))
         elif d := domain.strip():
-            search = "%{}%".format(d)
-            stmt = stmt.join(
-                FinancialInstitutionDomainDao,
-                FinancialInstitutionDao.lei == FinancialInstitutionDomainDao.lei,
-            ).filter(FinancialInstitutionDomainDao.domain.like(search))
+            stmt = stmt.filter(FinancialInstitutionDomainDao.domain == d)
         res = await session.scalars(stmt)
         return res.unique().all()
 
diff --git a/tests/entities/repos/test_institutions_repo.py b/tests/entities/repos/test_institutions_repo.py
index 3b7279a..75ad6db 100644
--- a/tests/entities/repos/test_institutions_repo.py
+++ b/tests/entities/repos/test_institutions_repo.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ async def setup(
         self,
         transaction_session: AsyncSession,
     ):
-        fi_dao_123, fi_dao_456 = FinancialInstitutionDao(
+        fi_dao_123, fi_dao_456, fi_dao_sub_456 = FinancialInstitutionDao(
             name="Test Bank 123",
             lei="TESTBANK123",
             domains=[FinancialInstitutionDomainDao(domain="test.bank.1", lei="TESTBANK123")],
@@ -24,18 +24,34 @@ async def setup(
             name="Test Bank 456",
             lei="TESTBANK456",
             domains=[FinancialInstitutionDomainDao(domain="test.bank.2", lei="TESTBANK456")],
+        ), FinancialInstitutionDao(
+            name="Test Sub Bank 456",
+            lei="TESTSUBBANK456",
+            domains=[FinancialInstitutionDomainDao(domain="sub.test.bank.2", lei="TESTSUBBANK456")],
         )
         transaction_session.add(fi_dao_123)
         transaction_session.add(fi_dao_456)
+        transaction_session.add(fi_dao_sub_456)
         await transaction_session.commit()
 
     async def test_get_institutions(self, query_session: AsyncSession):
         res = await repo.get_institutions(query_session)
-        assert len(res) == 2
+        assert len(res) == 3
 
-    async def test_get_institutions_by_domain(self, query_session: AsyncSession):
+    async def test_get_institutions_by_domain(self, query_session: AsyncSession): 
+        #verify 'generic' domain queries don't work
+        res = await repo.get_institutions(query_session, domain="bank")
+        assert len(res) == 0
+        
         res = await repo.get_institutions(query_session, domain="test.bank.1")
         assert len(res) == 1
+        
+        #shouldn't find sub.test.bank.2
+        res = await repo.get_institutions(query_session, domain="test.bank.2")
+        assert len(res) == 1
+        
+        res = await repo.get_institutions(query_session, domain="sub.test.bank.2")
+        assert len(res) == 1
 
     async def test_get_institutions_by_domain_not_existing(self, query_session: AsyncSession):
         res = await repo.get_institutions(query_session, domain="testing.bank")
@@ -63,7 +79,7 @@ async def test_update_institution(self, transaction_session: AsyncSession):
             FinancialInstitutionDao(name="Test Bank 234", lei="TESTBANK123"),
         )
         res = await repo.get_institutions(transaction_session)
-        assert len(res) == 2
+        assert len(res) == 3
         assert res[0].name == "Test Bank 234"
 
     async def test_add_domains(self, transaction_session: AsyncSession, query_session: AsyncSession):