The Solvency ii
Directive
SUBSECTION
6 – SUPERVISION OF GROUP SOLVENCY FOR GROUPS WITH CENTRALISED RISK
MANAGEMENT
Article 234
Subsidiaries of an insurance or
reinsurance undertaking: conditions
Member States shall
provide that the rules laid down in Articles 236 and 238 shall apply
to any insurance or reinsurance undertaking which is the subsidiary
of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking where all of the
following conditions are satisfied:
(a) the subsidiary, in
relation to which the group supervisor has not made any decision
under Article 212(2), is included in the group supervision carried
out by the group supervisor at the level of the parent undertaking
in accordance with this Title;
(b) the risk management
processes and internal control mechanisms of the parent undertaking
cover the subsidiary and the parent undertaking satisfies the
supervisory authorities concerned regarding the prudent management
of the subsidiary;
(ba) the parent undertaking has received
the agreement referred to in the third subparagraph of Article
250(4);
(bb) the parent undertaking has received the
agreement referred to in Article 260(2);
(c) ---
(d) an
application for permission to be subject to Articles 236 and 238 has
been submitted by the parent undertaking and a favourable decision
has been made on such application in accordance with the procedure
set out in Article 235.
Article 235
Subsidiaries
of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking: decision on the
application
1. In the case of applications for permission to
be subject to the rules laid down in Articles 236 and 238, the
supervisory authorities concerned shall work together within the
college of supervisors, in full consultation, to decide whether or
not to grant the permission sought and to determine the other terms
and conditions, if any, to which such permission should be
subject.
An application as referred to in the first
subparagraph shall be submitted only to the supervisory authority
having authorised the subsidiary. The supervisor shall inform and
forward the complete application to the other supervisory
authorities within the college without delay.
2. The
supervisory authorities concerned shall do everything within their
power to reach a joint decision on the application within three
months from the date of receipt of the complete application by all
supervisory authorities within the college.
3.
During the period referred to in paragraph 2, in the case of
diverging views concerning the approval of the application referred
to in paragraph 1, the group supervisor or any of the other
supervisory authorities concerned may consult the CEIOPS. Where the
CEIOPS is consulted, all supervisory authorities concerned should be
informed and the period referred to in paragraph 2 shall be extended
by one month.
Where the CEIOPS has been consulted, the
supervisory authorities concerned shall duly consider such advice
before taking their joint decision.
3a. The supervisory
authority having authorised the subsidiary shall provide to the
applicant the joint decision referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 in a
document containing the fully reasoned decision and an explanation
of any significant deviation from the positions adopted by the
CEIOPS, where it has been consulted. The joint decision shall be
recognised as determinative and applied by the supervisory
authorities in the Member States concerned.
3b. In the
absence of a joint decision between the supervisory authorities
concerned within the periods set out in paragraphs 2 and 3, the
group supervisor shall make its own decision on the
application.
In making its decision, the group supervisor
shall duly consider the following:
(a) any views and
reservations of the supervisory authorities concerned expressed
during the applicable period;
(b) any reservations of the
other supervisory authorities within the college expressed during
the applicable period;
(c) where the CEIOPS has been
consulted, its advice.
The decision shall be set out in a
document containing the fully reasoned decision and an explanation
of any significant deviation from the reservations of the other
supervisory authorities concerned and the advice of the CEIOPS. The
decision shall be provided to the applicant and the other
supervisory authorities concerned by the group
supervisor.
Article 236
Subsidiaries of an
insurance or reinsurance undertaking: determination of the Solvency
Capital Requirement
1. Without prejudice to Article 229,
the Solvency Capital Requirement of the subsidiary shall be
calculated as set out in paragraphs 2, 3a, and 4.
2. Where
the Solvency Capital Requirement of the subsidiary is
calculated on
the basis of an internal model approved at group level in accordance
with Article 229 and the supervisory authority having authorised the
subsidiary considers that its risk profile deviates significantly
from this internal model, and as long as that undertaking does not
properly address the concerns of the supervisory authority, that
authority may, in the cases referred to in Article 37, propose to
set a capital add-on to the Solvency Capital Requirement of that
subsidiary resulting from the application of such model, or, in
exceptional circumstances where such capital add-on would not be
appropriate, to require that undertaking to calculate its Solvency
Capital Requirement on the basis of the standard formula. The
supervisory authority shall discuss its proposal within the college
of supervisors and communicate the grounds for such proposals to
both the subsidiary and the college of supervisors.
3. Where
the Solvency Capital Requirement of the subsidiary is
calculated on
the basis of the standard formula and the supervisory authority
having authorised the subsidiary considers that its risk profile
deviates significantly from the assumptions underlying the standard
formula, and as long as that undertaking does not properly address
the concerns of the supervisory authority, that authority may, in
exceptional circumstances, propose to require the undertaking to
replace a subset of the parameters used in the standard formula
calculation by parameters specific to those undertakings when
calculating the life, non-life and health underwriting risk modules,
as set out in Article 108a, or in the cases referred to in Article
37, to set a capital add-on to the Solvency Capital Requirement of
that subsidiary.
The supervisory authority shall discuss its
proposal within the college of supervisors and communicate the
grounds for such proposal to both the subsidiary and the college of
supervisors.
3a. The college of supervisors shall do
everything within its power to reach an agreement on the proposal of
the supervisory authority having authorised the subsidiary and/or on
other possible measures.
4. Where the supervisory authority
and the group supervisor disagree within one month from the
proposal of the supervisory authority, the matter shall be referred
for consultation to the CEIOPS, which shall give its advice within
two months.
The supervisory authority having authorised that
subsidiary shall duly consider such advice before taking its final
decision.
The decision shall be set out in a document
containing the fully reasoned decision and shall take into account
the views and reservations of the other supervisory authorities
within the college and the advice from the CEIOPS.
The
decision shall be submitted to the subsidiary and to the college of
supervisors.
Article 237 ---
Article 238
Subsidiaries
of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking: non-compliance with the
Solvency Capital Requirement
1. Without prejudice to
Article 136, the supervisory authority having authorised the
subsidiary shall – in case of non-compliance with Solvency Capital
Requirement – forward without delay to the college of supervisors
the recovery plan submitted by the subsidiary in order to achieve,
within six months from the observation of the non-compliance with
the Solvency Capital Requirement, the reestablishment of the level
of eligible own funds or the reduction of its risk profile to ensure
compliance with the Solvency Capital Requirement.
The
college of supervisors shall do everything within its power to reach
an agreement on the proposal of the supervisory authority regarding
the approval of the recovery plan within four months from the date
of the observation of the non-compliance with the Solvency Capital
Requirement.
In the absence of an agreement, the supervisory
authority having authorised the subsidiary makes its own decision on
the approval of the recovery plan, taking duly into account the
views and reservations of the other supervisory authorities within
the college.
1a. When the supervisory authority having
authorised the subsidiary identifies, in accordance with article
134, deteriorating financial conditions it shall notify without
delay the college of supervisors.
With the exception of in emergency
situations, the measures to be taken should be discussed under the
college of supervisors.
The college of supervisors shall do
everything within its power to reach an agreement on the proposal of
the supervisory authority regarding the measures to be taken within
one month from the date of the communication.
In the absence
of an agreement, the supervisory authority having authorised the
subsidiary makes its own decision, taking duly into account the
views and reservations of the other supervisory authorities within
the college.
1b. Without prejudice of Article 137, the
supervisory authority having authorised the subsidiary shall – in
case of non-compliance with Minimum Capital Requirement – forward
without delay to the college of supervisors the short-term finance
scheme submitted by the subsidiary in order to achieve, within three
months from the observation of the non-compliance with the Minimum
Capital Requirement, the reestablishment of the level of eligible
own funds covering the Minimum Capital Requirement or the reduction
of its risk profile to ensure compliance with the Minimum Capital
Requirement. The college of supervisors should also be informed of
any measures taken to enforce the Minimum Capital Requirement at the
level of the subsidiary.
Article 239
Article 240
Article 241
Article
242
Subsidiaries of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking:
end of derogations for a subsidiary
1. The rules provided for
in Articles 236 and 238 shall cease to apply in the following
cases:
(a) the condition referred to in Article 234(a) is no
longer complied with;
(b) the condition referred to in
Article 234(b) is no longer complied with and the group does not
restore compliance with this condition in an appropriate period of
time;
(ba) the conditions referred to in Article 234(ba) and
(bb) are no longer complied with.
In the case referred to in
point (a) of the first subparagraph, where the group supervisor
decides, after consultation with the college of supervisors, no
longer to include the subsidiary in the group supervision it carries
out, it shall immediately inform the supervisory authority concerned
and the parent undertaking.
For the purposes of Article
234(b), ba) and (bb), the parent undertaking shall be responsible
for ensuring that the conditions are complied with on an on-going
basis.
In the event of non-compliance, it shall inform the group
supervisor and the supervisor of the subsidiary concerned without
delay. The parent undertaking shall present a plan to restore
compliance within an appropriate period of time.
Without
prejudice to the third subparagraph, the group supervisor shall
verify at least once a year, on its own initiative, that the
conditions referred to in Article 234(b), ba) and (bb) continue to
be complied with. The group supervisor shall also perform such
verification upon request from the supervisory authority concerned,
where the latter has significant concerns related to the ongoing
compliance with this condition.
Where the
verification
performed identifies weaknesses, the group supervisor shall require
the parent undertaking to present a plan to restore compliance
within an appropriate period of time.
If, after consulting
the college of supervisors, the group supervisor determines that the
plan referred to in the third or fourth subparagraph is insufficient
or subsequently that it is not being implemented within the agreed
period of time, the group supervisor shall conclude that the
condition referred to in Article 234(b), (ba) and (bb) is no longer
complied with and it shall immediately inform the supervisory
authority concerned.
2. The regime provided for in Articles
236 and 238 shall be again applicable if the parent undertaking
submits a new application and obtains a favourable decision in
accordance with the procedure set out in Article
235.
Article 243
Article 244
Article 245
Subsidiaries of an
insurance or reinsurance undertaking: implementing
measures
In order to ensure the uniform application of
Articles 234, 235, 236, 238 and 242, the Commission shall adopt
implementing measures relating to the following:
(a)
specifying the criteria to be applied when assessing whether the
conditions stated in Article 234 are satisfied;
(aa)
specifying the criteria to be applied when assessing what should be
considered emergency situations as stated in Article
238;
(b) (c) ---
(d) specifying the procedures to be followed by
supervisory authorities when exchanging information, exercising
their rights and fulfilling their duties in accordance with Articles
235, 236, 238 and 242.
Those measures designed to amend
non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it shall
be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in Article 304(3).
Article
246
Review clause
1. Two years after the date
referred to in Article 310, the Commission shall make an assessment
of the application of Title III of this Directive, in particular of
the cooperation of supervisory authorities within, and functionality
of, the colleges, as referred to in Article 252, of the legal status
of the CEIOPS, and of the supervisory practices on setting the
capital add-ons, and present a report to the European Parliament and
the Council, accompanied where appropriate by proposals for its
review.
2. Three years after the date referred to in Article
310, the Commission shall make an assessment of the benefit of
enhancing group supervision and capital management within a group of
insurance or reinsurance undertakings including a reference to
COM(2008)0119 and the report of the Committee on Economic and
Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament on this proposal of 16
October 2008 (A6-0413/2008). The assessment should include possible
measures to enhance a sound cross-border management of insurance
groups notably of risks and asset management. In its assessment, the
Commission shall, inter alia, take into account new developments and
progress concerning:
(a) harmonised framework on early
intervention;
(b) practices in centralised group risk
management, functioning of group internal models, including stress
testing;
(c) intra-group transactions and risk
concentrations;
(d) the behaviour of diversification and
concentration effects over time;
(e) legally binding
framework for the mediation of supervisory disputes;
(f) a
harmonised framework on asset transferability, insolvency and
winding up procedures which eliminates the relevant national company
or corporate law barriers to asset transferability;
(g)
equivalent level of protection of policyholders and beneficiaries of
the undertakings of the same group particularly in crisis
situations;
(h) a harmonised and adequately funded EU-wide
solution for insurance guarantee schemes;
(i) a harmonised
and legally binding framework between competent authorities, central
banks and ministries of finance concerning crisis management,
resolution and fiscal burden-sharing which aligns supervisory powers
with fiscal responsibilities.
The Commission shall present a
report to the European Parliament and the Council, accompanied where
appropriate by proposals for its review.
Article
247
Subsidiaries of an insurance holding
company
Articles 234, 235, 236, 238, 242, 245 and 246
shall apply mutatis mutandis to insurance and reinsurance
undertakings which are the subsidiary of an insurance holding
company.
SECTION 2 - RISK CONCENTRATION AND INTRA-GROUP
TRANSACTIONS
Article 248
Supervision of risk
concentration
1. Supervision of the risk concentration at
group level shall be exercised in accordance with paragraphs 2 and
3, Article 250 and Chapter III.
2. The Member States shall
require insurance and reinsurance undertakings or insurance holding
companies to report on a regular basis and at least annually to the
group supervisor any significant risk concentration at the level of
the group.
The necessary information shall be submitted to
the group supervisor by the insurance or reinsurance undertaking
which is at the head of the group or, where the group is not headed
by a insurance or reinsurance undertaking, by the insurance holding
company or by the insurance or reinsurance undertaking in the group
identified by the group supervisor after consultation with the other
supervisory authorities concerned and with the group.
The
risk concentrations shall be subject to supervisory review by the
group supervisor.
3. The group supervisor, after consultation
with the other supervisory authorities concerned and the group,
shall identify the type of risks insurance and reinsurance
undertakings in a particular group shall report in all
circumstances.
When defining or giving their opinion about
the type of risks, the group supervisor and the other supervisory
authorities concerned shall take into account the specific group and
risk management structure of the group.
In order to identify
significant risk concentration to be reported, the group supervisor,
after consultation of the other supervisory authorities concerned
and the group, shall impose appropriate thresholds based on solvency
capital or technical provisions or both.
When reviewing the
risk concentrations, the group supervisor shall in particular
monitor the possible risk of contagion in the group, the risk of a
conflict of interests, and the level or volume of risks.
4.
The Commission may adopt implementing measures, as regards the
definition and identification of a significant risk concentration
and the reporting on such a risk concentration, for the purposes of
paragraphs 2 and 3.
Those measures designed to amend
non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it shall
be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in Article 304(3).
Article
249
Supervision of intra group transactions
1.
Supervision of intra group transactions shall be exercised in
accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3, Article 250 and Chapter
III.
2. The Member States shall require insurance and
reinsurance undertakings or insurance holding companies to
report on
a regular basis and at least annually to the group supervisor all
significant intra-group transactions by insurance and reinsurance
undertakings within a group, including those performed with any
natural person linked to any undertaking within the group by close
links.
In addition, Member States shall require reporting of
very significant intra-group transactions as soon as is
practicable.
The necessary information shall be
submitted to
the group supervisor by the insurance or reinsurance undertaking
which is at the head of the group or, where the group is not headed
by an insurance or reinsurance undertaking, by the insurance holding
company or by the insurance or reinsurance undertaking in the group
identified by the group supervisor after consultation with the other
supervisory authorities concerned and with the group.
The
intra-group transactions shall be subject to supervisory review by
the group supervisor.
3. The group supervisor, after
consultation with the other supervisory authorities concerned and
the group, shall identify the type of intra-group transactions
insurance and reinsurance undertakings in a particular group must
report in all circumstances. Article 248(3) shall apply by
analogy.
4. The Commission may adopt implementing measures,
as regards the definition and identification of a significant
intra-group transaction and the reporting on such an intra-group
transaction, for the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3.
Those
measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive
by supplementing it shall be adopted in accordance with the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article
304(3).
SECTION 3 - RISK MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL
CONTROL
Article 250
Supervision of the system of
governance
1. The requirements set out in TITLE I, Chapter
IV, Section 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis at the level of the
group.
Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, the risk
management and internal control systems and reporting procedures
shall be implemented consistently in all the undertakings included
in the scope of group supervision pursuant to points (a) and (b) of
Article 211(2) so that those systems and reporting procedures can be
controlled at the level of the group.
2. Without prejudice to
paragraph 1, the group internal control mechanisms shall include at
least the following:
(a) adequate mechanisms as regards
group solvency to
identify and measure all material risks incurred
and to appropriately relate eligible own funds to risks;
(b)
sound reporting and accounting procedures to monitor and manage the
intra-group transactions and the risk concentration.
3. The
systems and reporting procedures referred to in paragraph 1 and 2
shall be subject to supervisory review by the group supervisor, in
accordance with the rules laid down in Chapter III.
4. Member
States shall require the participating insurance or reinsurance
undertaking or the insurance holding company to undertake at the
level of the group the assessment required by Article 44. The own
risk and solvency assessment conducted at group level shall be
subject to supervisory review by the group supervisor in accordance
with Chapter III.
Where the calculation of the solvency at
the level of the group is carried out in accordance with the
accounting consolidation-based method referred to in Article 228,
the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking or the
insurance holding company shall provide to the group supervisor a
proper understanding of the difference between the sum of the
Solvency Capital Requirements of all the related insurance or
reinsurance undertakings of the group and the group consolidated
Solvency Capital Requirement.
Where the participating
insurance or reinsurance undertaking or the insurance holding
company so decides, and subject to the agreement of the group
supervisor, it may undertake any assessments required by Article 44
at the level of the group and at the level of any subsidiary in the
group at the same time, and may produce a single document covering
all the assessments.
Before granting the agreement in
accordance with the third subparagraph, the group supervisor shall
consult and duly take into account any views and reservations of the
members of the college of supervisors referred to in Article
252.
Where the group exercises the option provided in the
third subparagraph, it shall submit the document to all supervisory
authorities concerned at the same time. Exercising this option shall
not remove from the subsidiaries concerned the obligation to ensure
that the requirements of Article 44 are met.
CHAPTER
III
MEASURES TO FACILITATE GROUP SUPERVISION
Article
251
Group Supervisor
1. A single supervisor,
responsible for coordination and exercise of group supervision,
shall be designated from among the supervisory authorities of the
Member States concerned (hereinafter "group supervisor").
2.
Where the same supervisory authority is competent for all insurance
and reinsurance undertakings in a group, the task of group
supervisor shall be exercised by that supervisory
authority.
In all other cases and subject to paragraph 3, the
task of group supervisor shall be exercised by the
following:
(a) where a group is headed by an insurance or
reinsurance undertaking, by the supervisory authority which has
authorised that undertaking;
(b) where a group is not headed
by an insurance or reinsurance undertaking, by the supervisory
authority identified in accordance with the following:
(i)
where the parent of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking is an
insurance holding company, by the supervisory authority which has
authorised that insurance or reinsurance undertaking;
(ii)
where more than one insurance or reinsurance undertaking with a head
office in the Community have as their parent the same insurance
holding company, and one of these undertakings has been authorised
in the Member State in which the insurance holding company has its
head office, by the supervisory authority of the insurance or
reinsurance undertaking authorised in that Member
State;
(iii) where the group is headed by more than one
insurance holding company with a head office in different Member
States and there is an insurance or reinsurance undertaking in each
of these States, by the supervisory authority of the insurance or
reinsurance undertaking with the largest balance sheet
total;
(iv) where more than one insurance or reinsurance
undertaking with a head office in the Community have as their parent
the same insurance holding company and none of these undertakings
has been authorised in the Member State in which the insurance
holding company has its head office, by the supervisory authority
which authorised the insurance or reinsurance undertaking with the
largest balance sheet total;
(v) where the group is a group
without a parent undertaking, or in any other case, by the
supervisory authority which authorised the insurance or reinsurance
undertaking with the largest balance sheet total.
3. In
particular cases, the supervisory authorities concerned may, at the
request of any of the authorities, take a joint decision to derogate
from the criteria set out in paragraph 2 if their application would
be inappropriate, taking into account the structure of the group and
the relative importance of the insurance and reinsurance
undertakings activities in different countries, and designate a
different supervisory authority as group supervisor.
For
that purpose, any of the supervisory authorities concerned may
request that a discussion be opened on whether the criteria referred
to in paragraph 2 are appropriate. Such a discussion shall not take
place more than once a year.
The supervisory authorities
concerned shall do everything within their power to reach a joint
decision on the choice of the group supervisor within three months
from the request for discussion. Before taking their decision, the
supervisory authorities concerned shall give the group an
opportunity to state its opinion.
3a. During the period
referred to in paragraph 3, any of the supervisory authorities
concerned may request that the CEIOPS be consulted. In the event
that the CEIOPS is consulted, the period referred to in paragraph 3
shall be extended by two months.
3b. In the event that the
CEIOPS is consulted, the supervisory authorities concerned shall
duly take into account the CEIOPS' advice before taking their joint
decision. The joint decision shall be fully reasoned and shall
contain an explanation of any significant deviation from the
positions adopted by the CEIOPS.
4. In the absence of a
joint decision derogating from the criteria set out in paragraph 2,
the task of group supervisor shall be exercised by the supervisory
authority identified in accordance with paragraph
2.
5. The CEIOPS shall inform the European
Parliament, the Council and the Commission, at least once a year, of
any major difficulties with the application of paragraphs 2, 3 and
4.
In the event that any major difficulties arise from the
application of the criteria set out in paragraphs 2 and 3, the
Commission shall adopt implementing measures specifying these
criteria.
Those measures, designed to amend non-essential
elements of this Directive, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to
in Article 304(3).
6. Where a Member State has more than one
supervisory authority for the prudential supervision of insurance
and reinsurance undertakings, such Member State shall take the
necessary measures to ensure coordination between those
authorities.
Article 252
Rights and duties of the
group supervisor and the other supervisors – College of
supervisors
1. The rights and duties assigned to the
group supervisor with regard to group supervision shall comprise the
following:
(a) coordination of the gathering and
dissemination of relevant or essential information for going concern
and emergency situations, including the dissemination of information
which is of importance for the supervisory task of a supervisory
authority;
(b) supervisory review and assessment of the
financial situation of the group;
(c) assessment of
compliance of the group with the rules on solvency and of risk
concentration and intra-group transactions as set out in Articles
216 to 249;
(d) assessment of the system of governance of the
group, as set out in Article 250, and of whether the members of the
administrative or management body of the participating undertaking
meet the requirements set out in Article 42 and Article
261;
(e) planning and coordination, through regular meetings
held at least annually or other appropriate means, of supervisory
activities in going concern as well as in emergency situations, in
cooperation with the supervisory authorities concerned and taking
into account the nature, scale and complexity of the risks inherent
in the business of all undertakings that are part of the
group;
(f) other tasks, measures and decisions assigned to
the group supervisor by this Directive or deriving from the
application of this Directive, in particular leading the process for
validation of any internal model at group level as set out in
Articles 229 and 231 and leading the process for permitting the
application of the regime established in articles 235, 236, 238 and
242.
2. In order to facilitate group supervision, a
college
of supervisors, chaired by the group supervisor, shall be
established to facilitate the exercise of the tasks referred to in
paragraph 1.
The college of supervisors shall ensure that
cooperation, exchange of information and consultation processes
among the supervisory authorities of the college, are effectively
applied in accordance with Title III of this Directive, with a view
to promoting the convergence of their respective decisions and
activities.
2a. The membership of the college shall include
the group supervisor and supervisory authorities of all the Member
States in which the head office of all subsidiary undertakings is
situated.
The supervisory authorities of significant branches
and related undertakings shall also be allowed to participate in the
colleges of supervisors. However, their participation shall only be
limited to achieving the objective of efficient exchange of
information.
The effective functioning of the college may
require that some activities be carried out by a reduced number of
supervisory authorities within the college.
2b. Without
prejudice to any measure adopted pursuant to this Directive, the
establishment and functioning of colleges shall be based on
coordination arrangements concluded by the group supervisor and the
other supervisory authorities concerned.
In the case of
diverging views concerning the coordination arrangements, any member
of the college may refer the matter to the CEIOPS.
The group
supervisor, following the consultation with the supervisory
authorities concerned, shall duly consider any advice produced
within two months by the CEIOPS before taking its final decision.
The decision shall be set out in a document containing the fully
reasoned decision and an explanation of any significant deviation
from any advice given by the CEIOPS. The group supervisor shall
transmit the decision to the other supervisory authorities
concerned.
2c. Without prejudice to any measure adopted
pursuant to this Directive, the coordination arrangements shall
specify the procedures for:
(a) the decision-making process
among the supervisory authorities concerned as referred to in
Articles 229, 230 and 251;
(b) the consultation referred to
in paragraph 4 and in Article 216(5).
Without prejudice to
the rights and duties allocated by this directive to the group
supervisor and to other supervisory authorities, the coordination
arrangements may entrust additional tasks to the group supervisor or
the other supervisory authorities in the cases where this results in
a more efficient supervision of the group and does not impair the
supervisory activities of the members of the college in respect of
their individual responsibilities.
In addition, the
coordination arrangements may specify:
(a) the consultation
among the supervisory authorities concerned, in particular as
referred to in Articles 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 225,
248, 249, 250, 254, 260, 263 and 264;
(b) the cooperation
with other supervisory authorities.
2d. The CEIOPS shall
elaborate guidelines for the operational functioning of colleges on
the basis of comprehensive reviews of the work of the colleges to
assess the level of convergence between them. Such reviews shall be
performed at least every three years. Member states shall ensure
that the group supervisor transmit to the CEIOPS the information on
the functioning of the college and any difficulties encountered
relevant for the reviews.
3. The Commission shall adopt
implementing measures for the coordination of group supervision for
the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 2d, including the definition of a
significant branch.
Those measures designed to amend
non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it shall
be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in Article 304(3).
Article
253
Cooperation and exchange of information between
supervisory authorities
1. The authorities responsible for
the supervision of the individual insurance and reinsurance
undertakings in a group and the group supervisor shall cooperate
closely, in particular in cases where an insurance or reinsurance
undertaking encounters financial difficulties.
With the
objective of ensuring that the supervisory authorities, including
the group supervisor, have the same amount of relevant information
available to them, without prejudice to their respective
responsibilities, and whether or not established in the same Member
State, they shall provide one another with such information in order
to allow and facilitate the exercise of the supervisory tasks of the
other authorities under this Directive.
In this regard, the
supervisory authorities concerned and the group supervisor shall
communicate without delay to one another all relevant information as
soon as it becomes available.
The information referred to in this
subparagraph includes, but is not limited to, information about
actions of the group and supervisors, and information provided by
the group.
1a. The authorities responsible for the
supervision of the individual insurance and reinsurance undertakings
in a group and the group supervisor shall each call immediately for
a meeting of all supervisors involved in group supervision in at
least the following cases:
(a) when they become aware of a
significant breach of the Solvency Capital Requirement or a breach
of the Minimum Capital Requirement of an individual insurance or
reinsurance undertaking; or
(b) when they become aware of a
significant breach of the Solvency Capital Requirement at group
level calculated on the basis of consolidated data or the aggregated
group Solvency Capital Requirement, in accordance with which method
according to Title III, Chapter II, Section 1, Subsection 4, is
used;
(c) when other exceptional circumstances occur or have
occurred.
2. The Commission shall adopt implementing measures
determining the items which are, on a systematic basis, to be
gathered by the group supervisor and disseminated to other
supervisory authorities concerned or to be transmitted to the group
supervisor by the other supervisory authorities
concerned.
The Commission shall adopt implementing measures
specifying the items essential or relevant for supervision at group
level with a view to enhancing convergence of supervisory
reporting.
The measures referred to in the first and second
subparagraphs designed to amend non-essential elements of this
Directive by supplementing it shall be adopted in accordance with
the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article
304(3).
Article 254
Consultation between
supervisory authorities
1. Without prejudice to Article 252,
the supervisory authorities concerned shall, where a decision is of
importance for the supervisory tasks of other supervisory
authorities, prior to that decision, consult each other in the
college of supervisors with regard to the following
items:
(a) changes in the shareholder structure,
organisational or management structure of insurance and reinsurance
undertakings in a group, which require the approval or authorisation
of supervisory authorities;
(b) major sanctions or
exceptional measures taken by supervisory authorities, including the
imposition of a capital add-on to the Solvency Capital Requirement
under Article 37 and the imposition of any limitation on the use of
an internal model for the calculation of the Solvency Capital
Requirement under Title I, Chapter VI, Section 4, Subsection
3.
For the purposes of point (b), the group supervisor shall
always be consulted.
In addition, the supervisory authorities
concerned shall, where a decision is based on information received
from other supervisory authorities, consult each other prior to that
decision.
2. Without prejudice to Article 252, a supervisory
authority may decide not to consult in cases of urgency or where
such consultation may jeopardise the effectiveness of the decision.
In that case, the supervisory authority shall, without delay, inform
the other supervisory authorities concerned.
Article
255
Requests from the group supervisor to other supervisory
authorities
The group supervisor may invite the supervisory
authorities of the Member State in which a parent undertaking has
its head office, and which do not themselves exercise the group
supervision pursuant to Article 251, to request from the parent
undertaking any information which would be relevant for the exercise
of its coordination rights and duties as laid down in Article 252,
and to transmit that information to the group supervisor.
The
group supervisor shall, when it needs information referred to in
Article 258(2) which has already been given to another supervisory
authority, contact that authority whenever possible in order to
prevent duplication of reporting to the various authorities involved
in supervision.
Article 256
Cooperation with
authorities responsible for credit institutions and investment
firms
Where an insurance or reinsurance undertaking and
either a credit institution as defined in Directive 2006/48/EC or an
investment firm as defined in Directive 2004/39/EC, or both, are
directly or indirectly related or have a common participating
undertaking, the supervisory authorities concerned and the
authorities responsible for the supervision of those other
undertakings shall cooperate closely.
Without prejudice to
their respective responsibilities, those authorities shall provide
one another with any information likely to simplify their task, in
particular as set out in this Title.
Article
257
Professional secrecy and confidentiality
Member
States shall authorise the exchange of the information between their
supervisory authorities and between their supervisory authorities
and other authorities, as referred to in Articles 253 to
256.
Information received in the framework of group
supervision, and in particular any exchange of information between
supervisory authorities and between supervisory authorities and
other authorities which is provided for in this Title, shall be
subject to the provisions on professional secrecy and communication
of confidential information laid down in Article
297.
Article 258
Access to information
1.
Member States shall ensure that the natural and legal persons
included within the scope of group supervision, and their related
undertakings and participating undertakings, are able to exchange
any information which could be relevant for the purposes of group
supervision.
2. Member States shall provide that their
authorities responsible for exercising group supervision shall have
access to any information relevant for the purposes of that
supervision regardless of the nature of the undertaking concerned.
Article 35 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
The supervisory
authorities concerned may only address themselves directly to the
undertakings in the group to obtain the necessary information, if
such information has been requested from the insurance undertaking
or reinsurance undertaking subject to group supervision and has not
been supplied by it within a reasonable period of
time.
Article 259
Verification of
information
1. Member States shall ensure that their
supervisory authorities may carry out within their territory, either
directly or through the intermediary of persons whom they appoint
for that purpose, on-site verification of the information referred
to in Article 258 on the premises of any of the
following:
(a) the insurance or reinsurance undertaking
subject to group supervision;
(b) related undertakings of
that insurance or reinsurance undertaking;
(c) parent
undertakings of that insurance or reinsurance
undertaking;
(d) related undertakings of a parent undertaking
of that insurance or reinsurance undertaking.
2. Where
supervisory authorities wish in specific cases to verify the
information concerning an undertaking, whether or not regulated,
which is part of a group and is situated in another Member State,
they shall ask the supervisory authorities of that other Member
State to have the verification carried out.
The authorities
which receive such a request shall, within the framework of their
competences, act upon that request either by carrying out the
verification directly, by allowing an auditor or expert to carry it
out, or by allowing the authority which made the request to carry it
out itself. The group supervisor shall be informed of the action
taken.
The supervisory authority which made the request may,
if it so wishes, participate in the verification when it does not
carry out the verification directly.
Article
260
Group solvency and financial condition report
1.
Member States shall require participating insurance and reinsurance
undertakings or insurance holding companies to
publicly disclose, on
an annual basis, a report on the solvency and financial condition at
the level of the group.
Articles 50 and 52 to 54 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
2. Where a participating insurance or reinsurance
undertaking or an insurance holding company so decides, and subject
to the agreement of the group supervisor, it may provide a single
solvency and financial condition report which shall comprise the
following:
(a) the information at the level of the group
which must be disclosed in accordance with paragraph 1;
(b)
the information for any of the subsidiaries within the group which
must be individually identifiable and disclosed in accordance with
Articles 50 and 52 to 54.
Before granting the agreement in
accordance with the first subparagraph, the group supervisor shall
consult and duly take into account any views and reservations of the
members of the college of supervisors referred to in Article
252.
3. Where the report referred to in paragraph 2 fails to
include information which the supervisory authority having
authorised a subsidiary within the group requires comparable
undertakings to provide, and where the omission is material, the
supervisory authority concerned shall have the power to require the
subsidiary concerned to disclose the necessary additional
information.
3a. The Commission shall adopt implementing
measures further specifying the information which must be disclosed
and the means by which this is to be achieved as regards the single
solvency and financial condition report.
Those measures
designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by
supplementing it shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory
procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article
304(3).
Article 261
Administrative or management
body of insurance holding companies
Member States shall
require that all persons who effectively run the insurance holding
company are fit and proper to perform their duties.
The
provisions set out in Article 42 shall apply by
analogy.
Article 262
Enforcement
measures
1. If the insurance or reinsurance undertakings in a
group do not comply with the requirements referred to in Articles
216 to 250 or where the requirements are met but solvency may
nevertheless be jeopardised or where the intra-group transactions or
the risk concentrations are a threat to the financial position of
the insurance or reinsurance undertakings, the following shall
require the necessary measures in order to rectify the situation as
soon as possible:
(a) the group supervisor with respect to
the insurance holding company;
(b) the supervisory
authorities with respect to the insurance and reinsurance
undertakings.
Where, in the case referred to in point (a) of
the first subparagraph, the group supervisor is not one of the
supervisory authorities of the Member State in which the insurance
holding company has its head office, the group supervisor shall
inform those supervisory authorities of its findings with a view to
enabling them to take the necessary measures.
Where, in the
case referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph, the group
supervisor is not one of the supervisory authorities of the Member
State in which the insurance or reinsurance undertaking has its head
office, the group supervisor shall inform those supervisory
authorities of its findings with a view to enabling them to take the
necessary measures.
Without prejudice to paragraph 2,
Member
States shall determine the measures which may be taken by their
supervisory authorities with respect to insurance holding
companies.
The supervisory authorities concerned, including
the group supervisor, shall where appropriate coordinate their
enforcement measures.
2. Without prejudice to their criminal
law provisions, Member States shall ensure that sanctions or
measures may be imposed on insurance holding companies which
infringe laws, regulations or administrative provisions enacted to
implement this Title, or on the person effectively managing those
companies.
The supervisory authorities shall cooperate closely to
ensure that such sanctions or measures are effective, especially
when the central administration or main establishment of an
insurance holding company is not located at its head
office.
3. The Commission may adopt implementing measures for
the coordination of enforcement measures referred to in paragraphs 1
and 2.
Those measures designed to amend non-essential
elements of this Directive by supplementing it shall be adopted in
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to
in Article 304(3).
Article 262a
Reporting of the
CEIOPS
1. The CEIOPS shall annually attend the European
Parliament for a general parliamentary committee hearing. When due,
the hearing may also include the reporting for the purpose of
Article 70, paragraph 2.
2. In doing so, the CEIOPS shall
among others report on all relevant and important experiences of the
supervisory activities and cooperation between supervisors in the
framework of Title III, in particular on:
(a) the process of
the nomination of the group supervisor, the number of group
supervisors and geographical spread;
(b) the working of the
colleges of supervisors, in particular the involvement and
commitment of supervisory authorities where they are not the group
supervisor.
3. The CEIOPS may for the purposes of paragraph 1
also include, when available, the main lessons drawn from the
reviews referred to in Article
252(2d).
  
Return to Index
Solvency ii Introduction (1) to (10)
Solvency ii Introduction (11) to (20)
Solvency ii Introduction (21) to (30)
Solvency ii Introduction (31) to (40)
Solvency ii Introduction (41) to (50)
Solvency ii Introduction (51) to (60)
Solvency ii Introduction (61) to (70)
Solvency ii Introduction (71) to (80)
Solvency ii Introduction (81) to (95)
Solvency ii Articles 1 to 10
Solvency ii Articles 11 to 20
Solvency ii Articles 21 to 30
Solvency ii Articles 31 to 39
Solvency ii Articles 40 to 49
Solvency ii Articles 50 to 62
Solvency ii Articles 63 to 71
Solvency ii Articles 72 to 85
Solvency ii Articles 86 to 99
Solvency ii Articles 100 to 125
Solvency ii Articles 126 to 142
Solvency ii Articles 143 to 159
Solvency ii Articles 160 to 173
Solvency ii Articles 174 to 203
Solvency ii Articles 204 to 215
Solvency ii Articles 216 to 233
Solvency ii Articles 234 to
262
Solvency ii Articles 263 to 298
Solvency ii Articles 300 to 313
Solvency ii ANNEX 1 to 3
Solvency ii ANNEX 4 to 5
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