Article 57a 5.

Member States may authorise their national competent authorities which supervise credit and financial institutions to conclude cooperation agreements providing for collaboration and exchanges of confidential information with the competent authorities of third countries that constitute counterparts of those national competent authorities. Such cooperation agreements shall be concluded on the basis of reciprocity and only if the information disclosed is subject to a guarantee of professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to that referred to in paragraph 1. Confidential information exchanged according to those cooperation agreements shall be used for the purpose of performing the supervisory task of those authorities.