S.L. 403.24 Art. 15Advantages to third country undertakings authorised in more than one Member State or EEA State.

(1) A third country insurance undertaking or a third country reinsurance undertaking which is authorised under article 7

of the Act and which has also requested or obtained authorisation from one or more European regulatory authorities, may apply for approval to the competent authority to benefit from the following advantages, which may be granted only jointly:

(a) calculate its Solvency Capital Requirement:

(i) in relation to the entire business which it pursues within Member States or EEA States; and

(ii) taking account only of the operations effected by the branches established within Member States or EEA States;

(b) lodge the deposit required under article 11(4) of the Act in only one of those Member States or EEA States in which it has requested or obtained authorisation; and

(c) hold the assets required to satisfy the Minimum Capital Requirement in any one of the Member States or EEA States in which it pursues its activities.

(2) The application to be submitted in terms of sub-regulation

(1) shall:

(a) state the authority of the Member State or EEA State which in future is to supervise the solvency of the entire business of the branches established within the Union, ("solvency supervisor");

(b) give reasons for the choice of the authority made by the undertaking; and

(c) demonstrate to the competent authority that the said application has also been made to all the European regulatory authorities concerned.

(3) The competent authority shall only approve an application made in terms of sub-regulation (1) where the competent authority and all the European regulatory authorities in which the third country insurance undertaking or third country reinsurance undertaking has requested or obtained authorisation agree that the undertaking should benefit from the approval.

(4) On granting the approval under sub-regulation (3), the competent authority shall require the undertaking to lodge the deposit referred to in sub-regulation (1)(b) in the Member State or EEA State of the selected solvency supervisor.

(5) Where the competent authority is the selected solvency supervisor and it approves an application submitted in terms of sub-regulation (1), the advantages applied for shall take effect from the time the competent authority informs all the European regulatory authorities concerned that it will supervise the state of solvency of the entire business of the branches within the European Union.

(6) Where the competent authority is the selected solvency supervisor it shall request any information from the European regulatory authorities concerned, that is necessary for the supervision of the overall solvency of all of the branches established in Member States or EEA States.

(7) Where the competent authority is not the selected solvency supervisor, the competent authority shall take reasonable steps to provide the European regulatory authority which is the selected solvency supervisor, with any information in relation to the branches of the undertaking in Malta, necessary to supervise the overall solvency of the branches of the undertaking.

(8) The competent authority may vary an approval granted in accordance with sub-regulation (3), where the competent authority and all the European regulatory authorities in which the third country insurance undertaking or third country reinsurance undertaking has requested or obtained authorisation, agree that the undertaking should benefit from the proposed variation.

(9) The competent authority may withdraw an approval granted in accordance with sub-regulation (3) where it considers that there are reasonable grounds for the approval to be withdrawn.

(10) The competent authority shall withdraw an approval granted in accordance with sub-regulation (3), where withdrawal is requested by a European regulatory authority in which the third country insurance undertaking or third country reinsurance undertaking has requested or obtained authorisation.

(11) Before the competent authority withdraws an approval granted in accordance with sub-regulation (3), the competent authority shall:

(a) where the approval is withdrawn under sub-regulation (9), request all the European regulatory authorities concerned to withdraw the advantages referred to in Article 167(1) of the Solvency II Directive which have been granted to the undertaking; and

(b) take reasonable steps to ensure that the approval is withdrawn at the same time as the European regulatory authorities concerned withdraw those advantages from the undertaking.