S.L. 330.9 Art. 84Confidentiality.

(1) The requirements of professional secrecy shall be binding in respect of the following persons:

(a) the Resolution Committee;

(b) the Resolution Authority;

(c) the Authority;

(d) the Ministry responsible for Finance;

(e) special managers or temporary administrators appointed under these regulations;

(f) potential acquirers that are contacted by the Authority or solicited by the Resolution Committee, irrespective of whether that contact or solicitation was made as preparation for the use of the sale of business tool, and irrespective of whether the solicitation resulted in an acquisition;

(g) auditors, accountants, legal and professional advisors, valuers and other experts directly or indirectly engaged by the Resolution Committee, Authority, the Ministry responsible for Finance or by the potential acquirers referred to in paragraph (e);

(h) the management committee administering the depositor compensation scheme;

(i) the management committee administering the investor compensation scheme;

(j) the body in charge of the resolution financing arrangements;

(k) the Central Bank and other authorities or bodies that may be involved in the resolution process;

(l) a bridge institution or an asset management vehicle;

(m) any other persons who provide or have provided services directly or indirectly, permanently or occasionally, to persons referred to in paragraphs (a) to (k);

(n) senior management, directors, and employees of the bodies or entities referred to in paragraphs (a) to (k) before, during and after their appointment;

(o) special administrator appointed in accordance with Article 20 of the CBD.

(2) With a view to ensuring that the confidentiality requirements laid down in sub-regulations (1) and (3) are complied with, the persons in sub-regulation (1)(a), (b), (c), (g), (h), (j) and

(k) shall ensure that there are internal rules in place, including rules to secure secrecy of information between persons directly involved in the resolution process.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the requirements under sub-regulation (1), the persons referred to in sub-regulation

(1) shall be prohibited from disclosing confidential information received during the course of their professional activities or from the Authority or the Resolution Committee in connection with its functions under these regulations, to any person or authority unless it is in the exercise of their functions under these regulations or in summary or collective form such that individual institutions or entities referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) or (d) of the definition "entity" in regulation 2(1) cannot be identified or with the express and prior consent of the authority or the institution or the entity referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) or (d) of the definition "entity" in regulation 2(1) which provided the information:

Provided that no confidential information shall be disclosed by the persons referred to in sub-regulation (1) and the possible effects of disclosing information on the public interest as regards financial, monetary or economic policy, on the commercial interests of natural and legal persons, on the purpose of inspections, on investigations and on audits, shall be assessed: Provided further that the procedure for checking the effects of disclosing information shall include a specific assessment of the effects of any disclosure of the contents and details of the recovery and resolution plan as referred to in regulations 5, 7, 10, 11 and 12 and the result of any assessment carried out under regulations 6, 8 and 15.

(4) Any person or entity referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be subject to civil liability in the event of an infringement of this regulation, in accordance with Maltese law.

(5) This regulation shall not prevent:

(a) employees and experts of the bodies or entities referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) to (j) from sharing information among themselves within each body or entity; or

(b) the Resolution Committee and the Authority, including their employees and experts, from sharing information with each other and with European resolution authorities in the other Member States, European regulatory authorities, the Ministry responsible for Finance, competent ministries in the other Member States, the Central Bank, central banks in the other Member States, deposit guarantee schemes, investor compensation schemes, authorities responsible for normal insolvency proceedings in the other Member States, authorities responsible for maintaining the stability of the financial system in the other Member States through the use of macroprudential rules, persons charged with carrying out statutory audits of accounts, the EBA, or, subject to regulation 98, third-country authorities that carry out equivalent functions to the Resolution Committee, or, subject to strict confidentiality requirements, to a potential acquirer for the purposes of planning or carrying out a resolution action.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this regulation, the exchange of information with any of the following may be authorised:

(a) subject to strict confidentiality requirements, any other person where necessary for the purposes of planning or carrying out a resolution action;

(b) parliamentary enquiry committees, courts of auditors and other entities in charge of enquiries in Malta, under appropriate conditions;

(c) the Authority;

(d) the Central Bank of Malta;

(e) the Ministry responsible for finance;

(f) the management committee administering the depositor compensation scheme; and

(g) the management committee administering the investor compensation scheme;

(h) the special administrator appointed in accordance with Article 20 of the CBD.

(7) This regulation shall be without prejudice to Maltese law concerning the disclosure of information for the purpose of legal proceedings in criminal or civil cases.