6.2 Assessment of proposed acquisitions or increases of qualifying holdings

When assessing the proposed acquisition or increase of qualifying holdings under Articles 22 and 23 of Directive 2013/36/EU, prudential supervisors should, where deemed necessary, cooperate and exchange information with the relevant AML/CFT supervisors for the purpose of their assessment in particular with regards to the assessment of the reasonable grounds for suspicion of ML/TF in connection with the proposed acquirer or ML/TF risks further to the proposed acquisition or increase of qualifying holdings²³ . Prudential supervisors should, where deemed necessary, request information from the relevant AML/CFT supervisor for the purpose of assessing the AML/CFT criterion established in Article 23(1)(e) of Directive 2013/36/EU in accordance with paragraph 14 of the Joint Guidelines on the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increases of qualifying holdings.²⁴

²³ In line with the Joint ESMA and EBA Guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders under Directive 2013/36/EU and Directive 2014/65/EU (EBA/GL/2021/06) and with the Joint Guidelines on the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increases of qualifying holdings in the banking, insurance and securities sector (JC/GL/2016/01).

²⁴ Joint Guidelines on the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increases of qualifying holdings in the banking, insurance and securities sector (JC/GL/2016/01).

In addition, in situations where the risk of ML/TF associated with the institution or applicant is increased, the prudential supervisor should also, where appropriate, seek information from financial intelligence units to inform their assessment of an application for a proposed acquisition or increase of qualifying holdings. This is particularly relevant in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering or terrorist financing has been or is being committed or attempted or there is an increased risk thereof in connection with the institution or applicant and in particular in situations where information available raises suspicion about the legitimacy of the origin of the funds.

When requesting information, the prudential supervisor making the request should provide all the relevant information provided with or related to the notification as per Article 22(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU. In the request, legal and natural persons should be identified in a clear manner to ensure that data for the correct person is provided.

Where a prudential supervisor decides to oppose the proposed acquisition based on the outcome of the assessment of the AML/CFT criterion established in Article 23(1)(e) of Directive 2013/36/EU, the prudential supervisor should share the relevant decision or parts of the decision with the relevant AML/CFT supervisor and with the financial intelligence unit.

AML/CFT supervisors

AML/CFT supervisors should, upon request from prudential supervisors, cooperate and provide their assessment of the applicant from an AML/CFT perspective in order to assess the proposed acquisition or increase of qualifying holdings. Where appropriate, the AML/CFT supervisor should also seek information from the financial intelligence unit as part of their assessment, unless such information is already available to the prudential supervisor or has been requested from the financial intelligence unit by the prudential supervisor.

AML/CFT supervisors should on their own initiative share with prudential supervisors information that is considered to be relevant for the assessment of proposed acquisitions or increases of qualifying holdings where they are aware of new facts related to ML/TF of institutions, their shareholders or their members of the management body and key function holders.

Information requested in the context of proposed acquisitions or increases of qualifying holdings should be provided without undue delay in view of the short legal timeframe for the assessment of such application by the prudential supervisor.