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TITLE IIU.K. INSURANCE GROUPS

CHAPTER IU.K. SOLVENCY CALCULATION AT GROUP LEVEL

SECTION 1 U.K. Group solvency: choice of calculation method and general principles

Article 328U.K.Choice of method

1.In assessing whether the exclusive application of method 1 is not appropriate, thus allowing the group solvency to be calculated in accordance with method 2 or a combination of methods 1 and 2 [F1in accordance with rules 11.1 to 13.2 of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook], the group supervisor shall, in consultation with F2... the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking or the insurance holding company or the mixed financial holding company, consider all of the the following elements:

(a)whether the amount and quality of information available in relation to a related undertaking would not be sufficient for it to be subject to method 1;

(b)whether a related undertaking is not covered by a group internal model, in the cases where a group internal model, approved in accordance with [F3regulations 48 and 49 of the Solvency 2 Regulations 2015], is used for the calculation of the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement;

(c)whether, for the purposes of paragraph (b), the risks that are not captured in the group internal model are immaterial in relation to the overall risk profile of the group;

(d)whether the use of method 1 in relation to a related undertaking or several related undertakings would be overly burdensome and the nature, scale and complexity of the risks of the group are such that the use of method 2 in relation to that related undertaking or those related undertakings does not materially affect the results of the group solvency calculation;

(e)whether intra-group transactions are not significant both in terms of volume and value of the transaction;

(f)where the group includes third country related insurance or reinsurance undertakings, whether F4... the solvency regimes of those third countries [F5have been determined to be] equivalent or provisionally equivalent.

2.The method or combination of methods chosen shall be applied in a consistent manner over time. The group supervisor shall require the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking or the insurance holding company or the mixed financial holding company to revert to method 1 in relation to any related undertaking where the use of method 2 or a combination of methods 1 and 2 is no longer justified considering the elements referred to in paragraph 1.

Textual Amendments

Article 329U.K.Treatment of specific related undertakings

1.Without prejudice to Article 328 and unless the book value of the relevant related undertaking has been deducted from the own funds eligible for the group solvency pursuant to [F6rule 10.6 of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook], the calculation of the group solvency shall include all of the following:

(a)the capital requirements for related undertakings which are credit institutions, investment firms or financial institutions and the own fund items of those undertakings calculated according to the relevant sectoral rules referred to in Article 2(7) of Directive 2002/87/EC;

(b)the capital requirements for related undertakings which are institutions for occupational retirement provision and the own funds items of those undertakings calculated according to Articles 17 to 17c of Directive 2003/41/EC;

(c)the capital requirements for related undertakings which are UCITS management companies calculated in accordance with Article 7(1)(a) of Directive 2009/65/EC and the own funds of those undertakings calculated in accordance with point 1 of Article 2(1) of that Directive;

(d)the capital requirements for related undertakings which are alternative investment fund managers calculated in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 2011/61/EU and the own funds of those undertakings calculated in accordance with Article 4(1)(ad) of that Directive;

(e)the notional capital requirements and the own fund items of related undertakings which are non-regulated undertakings carrying out financial activities, where the notional capital requirement is the capital requirement with which the related undertaking would have to comply under the relevant sector rules if the undertaking were a regulated entity.

2.For the purposes of applying the provisions set out in [F7rule 14.1 of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook], where the parent insurance holding company or mixed financial holding company has issued subordinated debt or has other eligible own funds subject to the limits set out in [F8rules 4.1 and 4.2 of the Own Funds part of the PRA Rulebook], [F9rule 10.3 of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook] shall apply.

3.Special purpose vehicles, F10... to which the participating undertaking or one of its subsidiaries has transferred risk shall be excluded from the calculation of group solvency in any of the following situations:

(a)the special purpose vehicle complies with the requirements set out in [F11Articles 318 to 327] F12...;

(b)the special purpose vehicle is regulated by a third country supervisory authority, and complies with requirements equivalent to those set out in [F13Articles 318 to 327 of this Regulation].

For the purposes of this paragraph, [F14Articles 318 to 327 of this Regulation] shall apply at the level of the group.

Textual Amendments

Article 330U.K.Availability at group level of the eligible own funds of related undertakings

[F151. In assessing whether certain own funds eligible to cover the Solvency Capital Requirement of a related insurance or reinsurance undertaking, a related third country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, an insurance holding company or a mixed financial holding company cannot effectively be made available to cover the group Solvency Capital Requirement, the [F16PRA] shall consider all of the following elements:

(a) whether the own-fund item is subject to legal or regulatory requirements that restrict the ability of that item to absorb all types of losses wherever they arise in the group;

(b) whether there are legal or regulatory requirements that restrict the transferability of assets to another insurance or reinsurance undertaking;

(c) whether making those own funds available for covering the group Solvency Capital Requirement would not be possible within a maximum of 9 months;

(d) whether, where method 2 is used, the own-fund item does not satisfy the requirements set out in Articles 71, 73 and 77; for this purpose, the term ‘ Solvency Capital Requirement ’ in those Articles shall include both the Solvency Capital Requirement of the related undertaking that has issued the own fund item and the group Solvency Capital Requirement.]

2.In the assessment referred to in the first paragraph, the [F16PRA] shall consider the restrictions that would exist on a going-concern basis.

In the assessment referred to in the first paragraph, the [F16PRA] shall also take into account any costs to the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking or insurance holding company or mixed financial holding company, or to any related undertaking, that making such own funds available for the group is likely to entail.

3.The following items shall be assumed not to be effectively available to cover the group Solvency Capital Requirement:

(a)ancillary own funds;

(b)preference shares, subordinated mutual members account and subordinated liabilities;

(c)an amount equal to the value of net deferred tax assets; for this purpose, the amount of deferred tax asset may be reduced by the amount of the associated deferred tax liability provided that those deferred tax assets and associated deferred tax liabilities both arise from the tax law of [F17the United Kingdom] or third country and the taxation authority of [F18the United Kingdom] or [F19that] third country permits such offsetting.

Where the participating undertaking can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the [F16PRA] that the assumption referred to in the first subparagraph for one of the items is inappropriate in the specific circumstances of the group, the participating undertaking may include that item in the own funds available to cover the group Solvency Capital Requirement.

4.The following items shall in any case not be considered as effectively available to cover the group Solvency Capital Requirement:

(a)any minority interest in a subsidiary exceeding the contribution of that subsidiary to the group Solvency Capital Requirement, where the subsidiary is an insurance or reinsurance undertaking, a third country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, an insurance holding company or a mixed financial holding company;

(b)any minority interest in a subsidiary ancillary services undertaking;

(c)any restricted own funds item in ring-fenced funds as referred to in F20... Article 80 of this Regulation.

5.Where an own-fund item of a related insurance or reinsurance undertaking, third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, insurance holding company or mixed financial holding company cannot effectively be made available to cover the group Solvency Capital Requirement, this own fund item may only be included in the calculation of group solvency up to the contribution of that related insurance or reinsurance undertaking, third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, insurance holding company or mixed financial holding company to the group Solvency Capital Requirement.

6.Where a related insurance or reinsurance undertaking, third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, insurance holding company or mixed financial holding company is included in the consolidated data pursuant to points (a) or (c) of Article 335(1), its contribution to the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement shall reflect diversification benefits and be calculated as follows:

(a)where the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement is calculated, in relation to that related undertaking, on the basis of the standard formula, the proportional share of the Solvency Capital Requirement of that related undertaking multiplied by a percentage corresponding to the proportion that the diversified component of the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement, as laid down in Article 336 (a), bears to the sum of the Solvency Capital Requirements of each of the undertakings included in the calculation of that diversified component of the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement;

(b)where the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement is calculated, in relation to that related undertaking, on the basis of an internal model, the Solvency Capital Requirement of that related undertaking multiplied by a percentage corresponding to the proportion of the diversification effects at group level that are attributed to that related undertaking, determined by that internal model, provided that the sum of such percentages for all the related insurance and reinsurance undertakings, insurance holding companies or mixed financial holding companies included in the consolidated calculation based on the internal model equals 100 %.

Textual Amendments

SECTION 2 U.K. Group solvency: calculation methods

Article 331U.K.Classification of own-fund items of related insurance and reinsurance undertakings at group level

1.Where an own-fund item has been classified into one of the three tiers based on the criteria set out in Title I, Chapter IV, Section 2 by a related insurance or reinsurance undertaking that is included in the calculation of the group solvency, the own-fund item shall be classified in the same tier at group level provided that all of the following additional requirements are met:

(a)undertakings comply with the requirements set out in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation;

(b)the own-fund item is free from encumbrances and is not connected with any other transaction, which when considered with the own-fund item, could result in that own-fund item not satisfying the requirements set out in [F21rules 3.1 – 3.3 of the Own Funds part of the PRA Rulebook] at group level.

2.For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 1:

(a)the term ‘Solvency Capital Requirement’ in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation shall mean both the Solvency Capital Requirement of the related undertaking that has issued the own-fund item and the group Solvency Capital Requirement;

(b)the term ‘Minimum Capital Requirement’ in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation shall mean both the Minimum Capital Requirement of the undertaking that has issued the own-fund item and one of the following minimums:

(i)

where method 1 is used, the minimum for the group Solvency Capital Requirement as calculated in accordance with the second subparagraph of [F22rule 11.3 of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook],

(ii)

where a combination of methods 1 and 2 is used, the minimum determined in accordance with Article 341 of this Regulation.

3.For the purposes of this Article, the term ‘insurance or reinsurance undertaking’ in Title I, Chapter IV, Section 2 shall mean both the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking and the insurance or reinsurance undertaking belonging to the group that has issued the own-fund item.

4.Notwithstanding paragraph 1, where a related insurance or reinsurance undertaking has included in Tier 2 an own-fund item which would qualify for inclusion in Tier 1 in accordance with Article 73(1)(j), that classification shall not prohibit the classification of the same own-fund item in Tier 1 at group level, provided that the limit set out in Article 82(3) are complied with at group level.

Textual Amendments

Article 332U.K.Classification of own-fund items of related third-country insurance or reinsurance undertakings at group level

1.Where an own-fund item has been issued by a related third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, the participating undertaking shall classify the own-fund item using the criteria for classification set out in Title I, Chapter IV, Section 2. provided that all of the following additional requirements are met:

(a)undertakings comply with the requirements set out in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation;

(b)the own-fund item is free from encumbrances and is not connected with any other transaction, which when considered with the own-fund item, could result in that own-fund item not satisfying the requirements set out in [F23rules 3.1 to 3.3 of the PRA Rulebook on the Own Funds] at group level.

2.For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 1:

(a)the term ‘Solvency Capital Requirement’ in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation shall mean the group Solvency Capital Requirement;

(b)the term ‘Minimum Capital Requirement’ in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation shall mean both the capital requirement, as laid down by the third country supervisory authority concerned, of the undertaking which has issued the own-fund item and one of the following minimums:

(i)

where method 1 is used, the minimum for the group Solvency Capital Requirement as calculated in accordance with the second subparagraph of [F24rule 11.3 of the PRA Rulebook on Group Supervision];

(ii)

where a combination of methods 1 and 2 is used, the minimum determined in accordance with Article 341 of this Regulation.

Textual Amendments

Article 333U.K.Classification of own-fund items of insurance holding companies, mixed financial holding companies, and subsidiary ancillary services undertakings at group level

1.Where an own-fund item has been issued by an insurance holding company, an intermediate insurance holding company, a mixed financial holding company, an intermediate mixed financial holding company or a subsidiary ancillary services undertaking, the participating undertaking shall classify the own-fund item using the criteria for classification set out in Title I, Chapter IV, Section 2 provided that all of the following requirements are met:

(a)undertakings comply with the requirements set out in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation;

(b)the own-fund item is free from encumbrances and is not connected with any other transaction, which when considered with the own-fund item, could result in that own-fund item not satisfying the requirements set out in [F25rules 3.1 – 3.3 of the PRA Rulebook on Own Funds] at group level.

2.For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 1:

(a)the term ‘Solvency Capital Requirement’ in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation shall mean the group Solvency Capital Requirement;

(b)the term ‘Minimum Capital Requirement’ in Articles 71, 73 and 77 of this Regulation includes both non-compliance with the relevant minimum referred to in Article 331(2)(b) and the insolvency of the insurance holding company, intermediate insurance holding company, mixed financial holding company, intermediate mixed financial holding company or subsidiary ancillary services undertaking.

3.For the purposes of this Article, the term ‘insurance or reinsurance undertaking’ in Title I, Chapter IV, Section 2 shall mean the insurance holding company, the intermediate insurance holding company, the mixed financial holding company, the intermediate mixed financial holding company or the subsidiary ancillary services undertaking which has issued the own-fund item.

Textual Amendments

Article 334U.K.Classification of own-fund items of residual related undertakings

1.The own-fund items of related undertakings referred to in Article 335(1)(f) shall be considered as part of the reconciliation reserve at group level.

2.Notwithstanding paragraph 1, where practicable and where the own-fund items referred to in paragraph 1 materially affect the amount of group own funds or the group solvency, the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking, the insurance holding company or the mixed financial holding company shall classify these own-fund items into one of the three tiers based on the criteria set out in Title I, Chapter IV, Section 2.

Article 335U.K.Method 1: determination of consolidated data

1.Consolidated data for the calculation of group solvency according to method 1 shall consist of all of the following:

(a)full consolidation of data of all the insurance or reinsurance undertakings, third-country insurance or reinsurance undertakings, insurance holding companies, mixed financial holding companies and ancillary services undertakings which are subsidiaries of the parent undertaking;

(b)full consolidation of data of special purpose vehicles to which the participating undertaking or one of its subsidiaries has transferred risk and which are not excluded from the scope of the group solvency calculation pursuant to Article 329(3);

(c)proportional consolidation of data of the insurance or reinsurance undertakings, third-country insurance or reinsurance undertakings, insurance holding companies, mixed financial holding companies and ancillary services undertakings managed by an undertaking referred to in point (a) together with one or more undertakings not included in point (a), where those undertakings' responsibility is limited to the share of the capital they hold;

(d)on the basis of the adjusted equity method in accordance with Article 13(3), data of all holdings in related insurance or reinsurance undertakings, third-country insurance or reinsurance undertakings, insurance holding companies, mixed financial holding companies which are not subsidiaries of the parent undertaking and which are not covered by points (a) and (c);

[F26(e) the proportional share of the own funds of related undertakings, calculated as follows:

(i) in relation to credit institutions, investment firms and financial institutions, in accordance with [F27Part 9C rules or] the United Kingdom law which implemented Directive 2013/36/EU;

(ii) in relation to alternative investment fund managers, in accordance with the United Kingdom law which implemented Article 4(1)(ad) of Directive 2011/61/EU;

(iii) in relation to UCITS management companies, in accordance with the United Kingdom law which implemented point 1 of Article 2(1) of Directive 2009/65/EC;

(iv) in relation to institutions for occupational retirement provision, in accordance with the United Kingdom law which implemented Articles 17 to 17c of Directive 2003/41/EC; and

(v) according to the own fund items of non-regulated undertakings carrying out financial activities.]

[F28(f ) in accordance with Article 13 of this Regulation, data of all related undertakings, including ancillary service undertakings, collective investment undertakings and investments packaged as funds, other than those referred to in points (a) to (e) of this paragraph.]

2.Notwithstanding point (d) of paragraph 1 data of [F29related undertakings linked by a common management relationship as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Solvency 2 Regulations 2015] shall be included in accordance with points (a), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of the first paragraph on the basis of the determination of the proportional share by the group supervisor as referred to in Article 221(2)(a) of Directive 2009/138/EC.

3.For the purposes of the calculation of the consolidated group own funds, the data referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be net of any intra-group transaction.

Textual Amendments

Article 336U.K.Method 1: Calculation of the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement

The consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement shall be calculated as the sum of the following:

(a)

[F28a Solvency Capital Requirement calculated on the basis of consolidated data as referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 335(1), data of collective investment undertakings and investments packaged as funds which are subsidiaries of the parent undertaking, following the rules laid down in [F30the United Kingdom law which implemented] Title I, Chapter VI, Section 4 of Directive 2009/138/EC;]

(b)

the proportional share of the Solvency Capital Requirement of each undertaking referred to in Article 335(1)(d) of this Regulation; for a related third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking which is not a subsidiary the Solvency Capital Requirement shall be calculated as if that undertaking had its head office in the [F31United Kingdom];

(c)

for undertakings referred to in Article 335(1)(e) of this Regulation, the proportional share of the capital requirements [F32of related undertakings, calculated as follows:

(i)

in relation to credit institutions, investment firms and financial institutions, in accordance with [F33Part 9C rules or] the United Kingdom law which implemented Directive 2013/36/EU;

(ii)

in relation to alternative investment fund managers, in accordance with the United Kingdom law which implemented Article 9 of Directive 2011/61/EU;

(iii)

in relation to UCITS management companies, in accordance with the United Kingdom law which implemented Article 7(1)(a) of Directive 2009/65/EC;

(iv)

in relation to institutions for occupational retirement provision, in accordance with the United Kingdom law which implemented Articles 17 to 17(c) of Directive 2003/41/EC; and

(v)

in relation to non-regulated undertakings carrying out financial activities, according to the notional capital requirement which is the capital requirement with which the related undertaking would have to comply under the relevant sector rules if the undertaking were a regulated entity.]

(d)

[F28for undertakings referred to in Article 335(1)(f) of this Regulation, other than undertakings covered by point (e) of this paragraph, the amount determined in accordance with Article 13, Articles 168 to 171a, Articles 182 to 187 and Article 188 of this Regulation;]

(e)

[F34for related collective investment undertakings or investments packaged as funds referred to in Article 335(1)(f) of this Regulation which are not subsidiaries of the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking, and to which Article 84(1) of this Regulation is applied at solo level, the amount determined in accordance with Title I, Chapter V and Article 84(1) of this Regulation.]

Textual Amendments

[F28Article 337 U.K. Method 1: determination of the local currency for the purposes of the currency risk calculation

1. Where the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement is calculated, wholly or in part, on the basis of the standard formula, the local currency referred to in the first paragraph of Article 188 shall be the currency used for the preparation of the consolidated accounts.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, where a material amount of the consolidated technical provisions or the consolidated group own funds is denominated in a currency other than the one used for the preparation of the consolidated accounts, that currency may be considered as the local currency referred to in the first paragraph of Article 188.]

Textual Amendments

Article 338U.K.Method 1: group-specific parameters

1.Subject to approval by the group supervisor, the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement may, within the framework of the standard formula, be calculated by replacing a subset of the standard parameters laid down in Article 218 by parameters specific to the group (‘group-specific parameters’).

2.Data used to calculate group-specific parameters shall satisfy the criteria set out in [F35regulation 47 of the Solvency 2 Regulations 2015] and Article 219 of this Regulation.

3.The standardised methods used to calculate the group-specific parameters are the methods set out in Article 220 of this Regulation.

4.For the purposes of this Article, any reference in Articles 218, 219 and 220 of this Regulation to ‘undertaking-specific parameters’ shall be understood as a reference to ‘group-specific parameters’ and any reference to ‘insurance and reinsurance undertakings’ shall be understood as a reference to ‘the participating insurance or reinsurance company, the insurance holding company or the mixed financial holding company’ applying for the use of group-specific parameters.

Textual Amendments

Article 339U.K.Method 1: best estimate

1.The consolidated best estimate of technical provisions on the basis of the consolidated data shall be equal to the sum of the following:

(a)the best estimate of the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking calculated in accordance with [F36the Valuation and Technical Provisions parts of the PRA Rulebook];

(b)the proportional share referred to in [F37rule 8.2(1) of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook] of the best estimate, calculated in accordance with [F38the Valuation and Technical Provisions parts of the PRA Rulebook], of related insurance or reinsurance undertakings and third-country insurance or reinsurance undertakings referred to in Article 335 (1)(a) and (c) of this Regulation.

2.For the purposes of paragraph 1 the best estimates of the participating insurance and reinsurance undertaking and of each related insurance and reinsurance undertaking and third-country insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall be net of any intra-group transactions. In relation to intra-group reinsurance contracts, all of the following adjustments shall be made:

(a)the best estimate of the undertaking that accepts risks shall not include the cash flows arising from the obligations of the intra-group reinsurance contracts;

(b)the undertaking that cedes the risk shall not recognise the amounts recoverable from the intra-group reinsurance contracts.

3.For the purposes of paragraph 1, the participating insurance and reinsurance undertaking may restrict the documentation and the directory of data referred to in Article 265 to the data used in the calculation of the adjustments of the best estimate referred to in paragraph 2.

Textual Amendments

Article 340U.K.Method 1: Risk margin

The consolidated risk margin of technical provisions on the basis of the consolidated data shall be equal to the sum of the following:

(a)

the risk margin of the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking;

(b)

the proportional share, as referred to in [F39rule 8.2(1) of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook], of the risk margin of the related insurance or reinsurance undertakings and third-country insurance or reinsurance undertakings referred to in Article 335(1)(a) and (c) of this Regulation.

Textual Amendments

Article 341U.K.Combination of methods 1 and 2: minimum consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement

Where the group supervisor decides, in accordance with [F40regulation 16 of the Solvency 2 Regulations 2015], to apply to the group a combination of methods 1 and 2, the consolidated group Solvency Capital Requirement calculated for the part of the group which is covered by method 1 shall have a minimum determined in accordance with the requirements set out in the second subparagraph of [F41rule 11.3 of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook].

Textual Amendments

Article 342U.K.Method 2: Elimination of intra-group creation of capital in relation to the best estimate

1.The aggregated group eligible own funds shall be adjusted to eliminate the impact of an intra-group transaction where the impact of the intra-group transaction affects the best estimates of the insurance and reinsurance undertakings in such way that the amount set out in paragraph 2 is different depending on whether the intra-group transaction is eliminated in the calculation of that amount or not.

2.The amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the sum of the following:

(a)the best estimate of the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking calculated in accordance with [F42the Valuation and Technical Provisions parts of the PRA Rulebook];

(b)the proportional share as referred to in [F43rule 8.2(2) of the Group Supervision part of the PRA Rulebook] of the best estimate, calculated in accordance with [F44the Valuation and Technical Provisions parts of the PRA Rulebook] for each related insurance and reinsurance undertaking and related third-country insurance and reinsurance undertaking.

Textual Amendments