4.1. Preparation of the data submission to the EBA by competent authorities

Competent authorities should inform the EBA, by 31 March of the calendar year following the year for which data is to be collected, about the list of investment firms that should be included in:

• a. the remuneration benchmarking exercise; and
• b. the gender pay gap benchmarking exercise.

Changes to the sample of investment firms should be avoided as much as possible to ensure that the sample remains stable and that changes to investment firms ’ practices can be identified. For the purposes of paragraph 18 competent authorities should inform the EBA about any changes compared to the previous data collection, including with regard to changes of names of investment firms or their legal entity identifier. Competent authorities should inform investment firms that are selected to participate in the data collections in a timely manner.

Competent authorities should, following a communication from the EBA, remove from the list investment firms for remuneration benchmarking that are subsidiaries of Union parent undertakings established in another Member State and for which the relevant data will be submitted to the EBA by another competent authority at a higher level of consolidation.