Directive (EU) 2016/2341 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER 2 U.K. Professional secrecy and exchange of information

Article 52 U.K. Professional secrecy

1. Member States shall lay down rules to ensure that all persons who are working or who have worked for the competent authorities, as well as auditors and experts acting on behalf of those authorities, are bound by the obligation of professional secrecy. Without prejudice to cases covered by criminal law, those persons shall not divulge confidential information received by them in the course of their duties to any person or authority, except in summary or aggregate form ensuring that individual IORPs cannot be identified.

2. By derogation from paragraph 1, where a pension scheme is being wound up, Member States may allow confidential information to be divulged in civil or commercial proceedings.

Article 53 U.K. Use of confidential information

Member States shall ensure that competent authorities which receive confidential information under this Directive use it only in the course of their duties and for the following purposes:

(a)

to check that the conditions for taking up occupational retirement provision business are met by IORPs before commencing their activities;

(b)

to facilitate the monitoring of the activities of IORPs, including the monitoring of the technical provisions, the solvency, the system of governance, and the information provided to members and beneficiaries;

(c)

to impose corrective measures, including administrative sanctions;

(d)

where permitted by national law, to publish key performance indicators for all individual IORPs, which may assist members and beneficiaries in taking financial decisions regarding their pension;

(e)

in appeals against decisions of the competent authorities taken in accordance with the provisions transposing this Directive;

(f)

in court proceedings regarding the provisions transposing this Directive.

Article 54 U.K. European Parliament right of inquiry

Articles 52 and 53 shall be without prejudice to the right of inquiry conferred on the European Parliament by Article 226 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Article 55 U.K. Exchange of information between authorities

1. Articles 52 and 53 shall not preclude any of the following:

(a) the exchange of information between competent authorities in the same Member State in the discharge of their supervisory functions;

(b) the exchange of information between competent authorities in different Member States in the discharge of their supervisory functions;

(c) the exchange of information, in the discharge of their supervisory functions, between competent authorities and any of the following which are situated in the same Member State:

(i)

authorities responsible for the supervision of financial sector entities and other financial organisations and the authorities responsible for the supervision of financial markets;

(ii)

authorities or bodies charged with responsibility for maintaining the stability of the financial system in Member States through the use of macro-prudential rules;

(iii)

bodies involved in the winding up of a pension scheme and in other similar procedures;

(iv)

reorganisation bodies or authorities aiming at protecting the stability of the financial system;

(v)

persons responsible for carrying out statutory audits of the accounts of IORPs, insurance undertakings and other financial institutions;

(d) the disclosure, to bodies which administer the winding up of a pension scheme, of information necessary for the performance of their duties.

2. The information received by the authorities, bodies and persons referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject to the rules on professional secrecy laid down in Article 52.

3. Articles 52 and 53 shall not preclude Member States from authorising exchanges of information between the competent authorities and any of the following:

(a) the authorities responsible for overseeing the bodies involved in the winding up of pension schemes and other similar procedures;

(b) the authorities responsible for overseeing the persons charged with carrying out statutory audits of the accounts of IORPs, insurance undertakings and other financial institutions;

(c) independent actuaries of IORPs carrying out supervision of those IORPs and the bodies responsible for overseeing such actuaries.

Article 56 U.K. Transmission of information to central banks, monetary authorities, European Supervisory Authorities and the European Systemic Risk Board

1. Articles 52 and 53 shall not prevent a competent authority from transmitting information to the following entities for the purposes of the exercise of their respective tasks:

(a) central banks and other bodies with a similar function in their capacity as monetary authorities;

(b) other public authorities responsible for overseeing payment systems, where appropriate;

(c) the European Systemic Risk Board, EIOPA, the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) established by Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) established by Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2).

2. Articles 55 to 58 shall not prevent the authorities or bodies referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article from communicating to the competent authorities such information as the competent authorities may need for the purposes of Article 53.

3. Information received in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be subject to professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to those as set out in this Directive.

Article 57 U.K. Disclosure of information to government administrations responsible for financial legislation

1. Articles 52(1), 53 and 58(1) shall not preclude Member States from authorising the disclosure of confidential information between competent authorities and other departments of their central government administrations responsible for the enforcement of legislation on the supervision of IORPs, credit institutions, financial institutions, investment services and insurance undertakings, or inspectors acting on behalf of those departments.

That disclosure shall be made only where necessary for reasons of prudential control, and prevention and resolution of failing IORPs. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, persons having access to the information shall be subject to professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to those set out in this Directive. Member States shall, however, provide the information received under Article 55, and information obtained by means of on-site verification may only be disclosed with the express consent of the competent authority from which the information originated or of the competent authority of the Member State in which the on-site verification was carried out.

2. Member States may authorise the disclosure of confidential information relating to the prudential supervision of IORPs to parliamentary enquiry committees or courts of auditors in their Member State and other entities in charge of enquiries in their Member State, where all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the entities have the competence under national law to investigate or scrutinise the actions of authorities responsible for the supervision of IORPs or for laws on such supervision;

(b) the information is strictly necessary for fulfilling the competence referred to in point (a);

(c) the persons with access to the information are subject to professional secrecy requirements under national law at least equivalent to those set out in this Directive;

(d) if the information originates from another Member State, that information is disclosed with the explicit agreement of the originating competent authorities and solely for the purposes for which those authorities gave their agreement.

Article 58 U.K. Conditions for the exchange of information

1. For exchanges of information under Articles 55, transmission of information under Article 56 and disclosure of information under Article 57, Member States shall require that at least the following conditions are met:

(a) the information shall be exchanged, transmitted or disclosed for the purpose of carrying out oversight or supervision;

(b) the information received shall be subject to the obligation of professional secrecy laid down in Article 52;

(c) where the information originates from another Member State, it shall not be disclosed without the express agreement of the competent authority from which it originates and, where appropriate, solely for the purposes for which that authority gave its agreement.

2. Article 53 shall not preclude Member States from authorising, with the aim of strengthening the stability, and integrity, of the financial system, the exchange of information between the competent authorities and the authorities or bodies responsible for the detection and investigation of breaches of company law applicable to sponsoring undertakings.

Member States which apply the first subparagraph shall require that at least the following conditions are met:

(a) the information must be intended for the purpose of detection, and investigation and scrutiny as referred to in point (a) of Article 57(2);

(b) information received must be subject to the obligation of professional secrecy laid down in Article 52;

(c) where the information originates from another Member State, it shall not be disclosed without the express agreement of the competent authority from which it originates and, where appropriate, solely for the purposes for which that authority gave its agreement.

3. Where, in a Member State, the authorities or bodies referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 perform their task of detection or investigation with the aid of persons appointed, in view of their specific competence, for that purpose and not employed in the public sector, the possibility of exchanging information provided for in Article 57(2) shall apply.

Article 59 U.K. National provisions of a prudential nature

1. Member States shall report to EIOPA their national provisions of a prudential nature relevant to the field of occupational pension schemes, which are not covered by national social and labour law on the organisation of pension systems as referred to in Article 11(1).

2. Member States shall update that information on a regular basis and at least every two years and EIOPA shall make that information available on its website.

(1)

Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 12).

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84).