Regulation (EU) No 468/2014 of the European Central BankShow full title

Article 39 Classifying a supervised entity on an individual basis as significant

1. A supervised entity shall be considered a significant supervised entity if the ECB so determines in an ECB decision addressed to the relevant supervised entity pursuant to Articles 43 to 49, explaining the underlying reasons for such decision.

2. A supervised entity shall cease to be classified as a significant supervised entity if the ECB determines, in an ECB decision addressed to the supervised entity explaining the underlying reasons for such decision, that it is a less significant supervised entity or is no longer a supervised entity.

3. A supervised entity can be classified as a significant supervised entity on the basis of any of the following:

(a) its size, as determined in accordance with Articles 50 to 55 (hereinafter the ‘size criterion’);

(b) its importance for the economy of the Union or any participating Member State, as determined in accordance with Articles 56 to 58 (hereinafter the ‘economic importance criterion’);

(c) its significance with regard to cross-border activities, as determined in accordance with Articles 59 and 60 (hereinafter the ‘cross-border activities criterion’);

(d) a request for or the receipt of direct public financial assistance from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), as determined in accordance with Articles 61 to 64 (hereinafter the ‘direct public financial assistance criterion’);

(e) the fact that the supervised entity is one of the three most significant credit institutions in a participating Member State, as determined in accordance with Articles 65 and 66.

4. Significant supervised entities shall be directly supervised by the ECB unless particular circumstances justify supervision by the relevant NCA in accordance with Title 9 of this Part.

5. The ECB shall also directly supervise a less significant supervised entity or a less significant supervised group under an ECB decision adopted pursuant to Article 6(5)(b) of the SSM Regulation to the effect that the ECB will exercise directly all relevant powers referred to in Article 6(4) of the SSM Regulation. For the purposes of the SSM, such a less significant supervised entity or less significant supervised group shall be classified as significant.

6. Prior to taking the ECB decisions referred to in this Article, the ECB shall consult with the relevant NCAs. Each ECB decision referred to in this Article shall also be notified to the relevant NCAs.