Qualifying Holdings

Legislative Requirements

The requirements in relation to the acquisition and disposal of Qualifying Holdings in credit institutions are set out in Chapter 2 of Part 3 of the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 158 of 2014).

Notification and Assessment Process

An application must be submitted to the Central Bank of Ireland and thereby to the European Central Bank, which is the competent authority for the approval of Qualifying Holding applications, of proposed acquisitions of, or increases in, direct or indirect qualifying holdings in respect of Irish authorised credit institutions. 

As of 27 September 2021, the IMAS portal is to be used for the submission of applications for the acquisition or increase of a qualifying holding.

Guidance

In May 2017, the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (which includes the European Banking Authority) issued guidelines entitled ‘Joint Guidelines on the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increases of qualifying holdings in the banking, insurance and securities sectors’ (“the Guidelines”).  A proposed acquirer should take note of the Guidelines when preparing the Acquiring Transaction Notification Form for submission to the Central Bank of Ireland.

To reduce the risk of submitting an incomplete notification and thereby avoid undue delays in the notification and assessment process, proposed acquirers must engage in pre-notification contacts/discussions with the Central Bank of Ireland, with a view to submitting the notification and supporting documentation in draft form. Please contact [email protected] should you require clarification/assistance.