2.

The following Articles 15a to 15j are inserted: ‘Article 15a Indirect holdings for the purposes of Article 36(1)(f),(h) and (i) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1. For the purposes of Articles 15c, 15d, 15e and 15i of this Regulation, “intermediate entity” as referred to in Article 4(1)(114) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 comprises any of the following entities that hold capital instruments of financial sector entities: (a) a collective investment undertaking; (b) a pension fund other than a defined benefit pension fund; (c) a defined benefit pension fund, where the institution is supporting the investment risk and where the defined benefit pension fund is not independent from its sponsoring institution; (d) entities that are directly or indirectly under the control or under significant influence of one of the following: (1) the institution or its subsidiaries; (2) the parent undertaking of the institution or the subsidiaries of that parent undertaking; (3) the parent financial holding company of the institution or the subsidiaries of that parent financial holding company; (4) the parent mixed activity holding company of the institution or the subsidiaries of the parent mixed activity holding company; (5) the parent mixed financial holding company of the institution or the subsidiaries of the parent mixed financial holding company; (e) entities that are jointly, directly or indirectly, under the control or under significant influence of one institution, several institutions, or a network of institutions, which are members of the same institutional protection scheme, or of the institutional protection scheme or the network of institutions affiliated to a central body that are not organised as a group to which the institution belongs; (f) special purpose entities; (g) entities whose activity is to hold financial instruments of financial sector entities; (h) any entity that the competent authority considers to be used with the intention of circumventing the rules relating to the deduction of indirect and synthetic holdings. 2. Without prejudice to point (h) of paragraph 1, an “intermediate entity” as referred to in Article 4(1)(114) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 does not comprise: (a) mixed activity holding companies, institutions, insurance undertakings, reinsurance undertakings; (b) entities that are, by virtue of applicable national law, subject to the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and Directive 2013/36/EU; (c) financial sector entities other than the ones mentioned in point (a), which are supervised and required to deduct direct and indirect holdings of their own capital instruments and holdings of capital instruments of financial sector entities from their regulatory capital. 3. For the purposes of point (c) of paragraph 1, a defined benefit pension fund shall be deemed to be independent from its sponsoring institution where all of the following conditions are met: (a) the defined benefit pension fund is legally separate from the sponsoring institution and its governance is independent; (b) the statutes, the instruments of incorporation and the internal rules of the specific pension fund, as applicable, have been approved by an independent regulator; or the rules governing the incorporation and functioning of the defined benefit pension fund, as applicable, are established in the applicable national law of the relevant Member State; (c) the trustees or administrators of the defined pension fund have an obligation under applicable national law to act impartially in the best interests of the scheme beneficiaries instead of those of the sponsor, to manage assets of the defined pension fund prudently and to conform to the restrictions set out in the statutes, the instruments of incorporation and the internal rules of the specific pension fund, as applicable, or statutory or regulatory framework described in point (b); (d) the statutes or the instruments of incorporation or the rules governing the incorporation and functioning of the defined benefit pension fund referred to in point (b) include restrictions on investments that the defined pension scheme can make in own funds instruments issued by the sponsoring institution. 4. Where a defined benefit pension fund referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 holds own funds instruments of the sponsoring institution, the sponsoring institution shall treat that holding as an indirect holding of own Common Equity Tier 1 instruments, own Additional Tier 1 instruments or own Tier 2 instruments, as applicable. The amount to be deducted from the Common Equity Tier 1 items, Additional Tier 1 items or Tier 2 items, as applicable, of the sponsoring institution, shall be calculated in accordance with Article 15c. Article 15b Synthetic holdings for the purposes of Article 36(1)(f),(h) and (i) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1. The following financial products shall be considered synthetic holdings of capital instruments pursuant to points (f), (h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013: (a) derivative instruments that have capital instruments of a financial sector entity as their underlying or have the financial sector entity as their reference entity; (b) guarantees or credit protection provided to a third party in respect of the third party's investments in a capital instrument of a financial sector entity. 2. The financial products provided for in paragraph 1 shall include the following: (a) investments in total return swaps on a capital instrument of a financial sector entity; (b) call options purchased by the institution on a capital instrument of a financial sector entity; (c) put options sold by the institution on a capital instrument of a financial sector entity or any other actual or contingent contractual obligation of the institution to purchase its own own funds instruments; (d) investments in forward purchase agreements on a capital instrument of a financial sector entity. Article 15c Calculation of indirect holdings for the purposes of points (f),(h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 The amount of indirect holdings to be deducted from Common Equity Tier 1 items as required in points (f), (h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 shall be calculated in one of the following ways: (a) according to the default approach set out in Article 15d; (b) where the institution demonstrates to the satisfaction of the competent authority that the approach described in Article 15d is excessively burdensome, according to the structure-based approach described in Article 15e. The structure-based approach described in Article 15e shall not be used by institutions for calculating the amount of those deductions in relation to investments in intermediate entities referred to in Article 15a(1)(d) and (e). Article 15d Default approach for the calculation of indirect holdings for the purposes of points (f),(h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1. The amount of indirect holdings of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments to be deducted as required by points (f), (h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 shall be calculated as follows: (a) where the exposures of all investors to the intermediate entity rank pari passu, the amount shall be equal to the percentage of funding multiplied by the amount of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of the financial sector entity held by the intermediate entity; (b) where the exposures of all investors to the intermediate entity do not rank pari passu, the amount shall be equal to the percentage of funding multiplied with the lower of the following amounts: (i) the amount of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of the financial sector entity held by the intermediate entity; (ii) the institution's exposure to the intermediate entity together with all other funding provided to the intermediate entity that rank pari passu with the institution's exposure. 2. The calculation method set out in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall be made for each tranche of funding that ranks pari passu with the funding provided by the institution. 3. The percentage of funding for the purposes of paragraph 1 shall be the institution's exposure to the intermediate entity divided by the sum of the institution's exposure to the intermediate entity and of all other exposures to this intermediate entity that rank pari passu with the institution's exposure. 4. The calculation laid down in paragraph 1 shall be made separately for each holding in a financial sector entity held by each intermediate entity. 5. Where investments in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of a financial sector entity are held indirectly through subsequent or several intermediate entities, the percentage of funding set out in paragraph 1 shall be determined by dividing the amount referred to in point (a) of this paragraph by the amount referred to in point (b) of this paragraph: (a) the result of the multiplication of amounts of funding provided by the institution to intermediate entities, by the amounts of funding provided by these intermediate entities to subsequent intermediate entities, and by amounts of funding provided by these subsequent intermediate entities to the financial sector entity; (b) the result of the multiplication of amounts of capital instruments or other instruments as relevant, issued by each intermediate entity. 6. The percentage of funding referred to in paragraph 5 shall be calculated separately for each holding in a financial sector entity held by intermediate entities and for each tranche of funding that ranks pari passu with the funding provided by the institution and the subsequent intermediate entities. Article 15e Structure-based approach for the calculation of indirect holdings for the purposes of points (f), (h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1. The amount to be deducted from Common Equity Tier 1 items referred to in point (f) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 shall be equal to the percentage of funding, as defined in Article 15d(3) of this Regulation, multiplied by the amount of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of the institution held by the intermediate entity. 2. The amount to be deducted from Common Equity Tier 1 items referred to in points (h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 shall be equal to the percentage of funding, as defined in Article 15d(3) of this Regulation, multiplied by the aggregate amount of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of financial sector entities held by the intermediate entity. 3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, an institution shall calculate separately per intermediate entity the aggregate amount of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of the institution that the intermediate entity holds and the aggregate amount of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of other financial sector entities that the intermediate entity holds. 4. The institution shall consider the amount of holdings in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of financial sector entities calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article as a significant investment referred to in Article 43 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and shall deduct the amount in accordance with point (i) of Article 36(1) of that Regulation. 5. Where investments in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments are held indirectly through subsequent or several intermediate entities, paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 15d shall apply. 6. Where an institution is not able to identify the aggregate amounts that the intermediate entity holds in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of the institution or in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of financial sector entities, the institution shall estimate the amounts it cannot identify by using the maximum amounts that the intermediate entity is able to hold on the basis of its investment mandates. 7. Where the institution is not able to determine, on the basis of the investment mandate, the maximum amount that the intermediate entity holds in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of the institution or in Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of financial sector entities, the institution shall treat the amount of funding that it holds in the intermediate entity as an investment in its own Common Equity Tier 1 instruments and shall deduct them in accordance with point (f) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. 8. By way of derogation from paragraph 7 of this Article, the institution shall treat the amount of funding that it holds in the intermediate entity as a non-significant investment and shall deduct them in accordance with point (h) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, where all of the following conditions are met: (a) the amounts of funding are less than 0,25 % of the institution's Common Equity Tier 1 capital; (b) the amounts of funding are less than EUR 10 million; (c) the institution cannot reasonably determine the amounts of its own Common Equity Tier 1 instruments that the intermediate entity holds. 9. Where funding to the intermediate entity is in the form of units or shares of a CIU, the institution may rely on the third parties referred to in Article 132(5) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, and under the conditions set by that Article, to calculate and report the aggregate amounts referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article. Article 15f Calculation of synthetic holdings for the purposes of points (f),(h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1. The amount of synthetic holdings to be deducted from Common Equity Tier 1 items as required by points (f), (h) and (i) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 shall be as follows: (a) for holdings in the trading book: (i) for options, the delta equivalent amount of the relevant instruments calculated in accordance with Title IV of Part III of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; (ii) for any other synthetic holdings, the nominal or notional amount, as applicable; (b) for holdings in the non-trading book: (i) for call options, the current market value; (ii) for any other synthetic holdings, the nominal or notional amount, as applicable. 2. An institution shall deduct the synthetic holdings referred to in paragraph 1 from the date of signature of the contract between the institution and the counterparty. Article 15g Calculation of significant investments for the purposes of Article 36(1)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1. For the purposes of Article 36(1)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, in order to assess whether an institution owns more than 10 % of the Common Equity Tier 1 instruments issued by a financial sector entity, in accordance with point (a) of Article 43 of that Regulation, institutions shall add the amounts of their gross long positions in direct holdings, as well as indirect holdings of Common Equity Tier 1 instruments of this financial sector entity referred to in points (d) to (h) of Article 15a(1) of this Regulation. 2. Indirect and synthetic holdings shall be taken into account by the competent authority in order to assess whether the conditions in points (b) and (c) of Article 43 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 are met. Article 15h Holdings of Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 The methodology referred to in Articles 15a to 15f of this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis to Additional Tier 1 holdings for the purposes of points (a), (c) and (d) of Article 56 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, and to Tier 2 holdings for the purposes of points (a), (c) and (d) of Article 66 of that Regulation, where references to Common Equity Tier 1 shall be read as references to Additional Tier 1 or Tier 2, as applicable. Article 15i Order and maximum amount of deductions of indirect holdings of own funds instruments of financial sector entities 1. Subject to the limits laid down in paragraphs 2 or 3, as applicable, where the intermediate entity holds Common Equity Tier 1 instruments, Additional Tier 1 instruments and Tier 2 instruments of financial sector entities, the Common Equity Tier 1 instruments shall be deducted first, the Additional Tier 1 instruments shall be deducted second, and the Tier 2 instruments last. 2. Where the intermediate entity holds own funds instruments of institutions, when applying paragraph 1 to each type of holding institutions shall deduct the holdings of their own own funds instruments first. 3. Where an institution holds capital instruments of financial sector entities indirectly, the amount to be deducted from the institution's own funds shall not be higher than the lower of the following amounts: (a) the total funding provided by the institution to the intermediate entity; (b) the amount of own funds instruments held by the intermediate entity in the financial sector entity. Article 15j Goodwill For the application of deductions referred to in point (h) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, institutions may choose not to identify goodwill separately when determining the applicable amount to be deducted according to Article 46 of that Regulation.’.