On 26 September 2017, the European Banking Authority
("EBA") and the European Securities and
Markets Authority ("ESMA") published the
final report of their joint guidelines on the
assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and
key function holders in accordance with Article 91 (12) of
Directive 2013/36/EU ("CRD IV") and
Article 9 of Directive 2014/65/EU ("MiFID
II") (the "Fit&Proper
Guidelines").
The Fit&Proper Guidelines aim to harmonise and improve
suitability assessments within the European financial sector, and
to ensure sound governance in financial institutions in line with
CRD IV and MiFID II.
The management body of a credit institution must be suitable to
carry out its responsibilities and be composed in such a way that
contributes to the effective management of the credit institution
and balanced decision-making.
Background
In 2012, the EBA launched guidelines on the assessment of the
suitability of members of the management body and key function
holders ("Fit&Proper Guidelines
2012").
The Fit&Proper Guidelines 2012 set forth minimum requirements
for suitability assessments and have been further spelled out by
the Austrian Financial Market Authority
("FMA") in its fit&proper circular
of November 2014 (the "FMA Fit&Proper
Circular").
On 15 May 2017, the European Central Bank
("ECB"), which has been responsible for
making decisions on the appointment of all members of the
management bodies of significant credit institutions that fall
under its direct supervision since 2014, has published a guide on fit and proper assessments for
members of the management bodies of significant credit institutions
under the single supervisory mechanism. The guide explains how ECB
banking supervision ensures consistency in the application of the
fit and proper assessment criteria, with a view to establishing
common supervisory practices for assessing the qualifications,
skills and proper standing of a candidate across the EU. In its
guidelines, the ECB expressly stated that it will comply with
national law and any applicable suitability guidelines developed by
the EBA and the ESMA.
The Fit&Proper Guidelines
Addressees
The Fit&Proper Guidelines are primarily addressed to the
competent authorities of the Member States – including the
ECB – and cover the members of the management bodies of
credit institutions, financial holdings and mixed financial holding
companies as defined under Regulation 575/2013/EU
("CRR") and investment firms (together
"Institutions" and each an
"Institution").
The competent authorities/Institutions are required to assess the
suitability of management (executive) and supervisory
(non-executive) functions, irrespective of whether the board
structure is unitary or dual. For credit institutions and
investment firms (as defined in the CRR), competent
authorities/Institutions need to assess the suitability of all key
function holders who have significant influence over the direction
of the Institution, such as the heads of risk management,
compliance and audit.
Proportionality
The Fit&Proper Guidelines must be applied in a proportionate
manner, taking account of the size, internal structure and type and
complexity of the business of the Institution.
Individual and collective suitability assessment
The Institutions shall assess the suitability of the individual
members as well as the collective suitability of the entire
management body (see related documents -
Annex I (Template for the Assessment of Collective
Suitability)).
Aspects to be considered in the selection process
- Sufficient time commitment to carry out their
respective activities and enhance the requisite knowledge and
skills (including limits on multiple directorships and other
functions);
- Adequate (collective) knowledge, skills and
experience: Aside from educational degrees and practical
experience, Annex II lists a non-exhaustive set of personal skills,
such as strategic acumen, judgement or teamwork;
- Reputation, honesty and
integrity: regardless of the scale, nature and
complexity of the Institution's business and the specific
position;
- Independence of mind and
independence (see below);
- Adequate human and financial
resources for induction and
training of members of the management body to understand
an Institution's business model, structure and risk profile,
and keep qualifications up-to-date; and
- Diversity to reduce group thinking, facilitate independent opinions and constructively challenge the decision-making process.
As outlined above, the Fit&Proper Guidelines differentiate
between "independence of mind" and "being
independent", which is a new concept regarding the assessment
of suitability. The former means the ability of members to think
critically and to perform their duties, especially in discussions
and decision-making processes, without the influence of other
people. It refers to a pattern of behaviour which has to be
fulfilled by all members of the management body to be able to
effectively assess, oversee and monitor decision-making.
"Being independent" refers to certain members of CRD
Institutions and means that they are independent in performing
their supervisory functions.
Initial appointments and documentation requirements –
what will change?
For each requested suitability assessment, a set of documents and
information needs to be submitted to the competent authority. The
FMA has set out the scope of documents/information which needs to
be provided for each requested suitability assessment in its
Fit&Proper Circular (which in large parts reflects the
Fit&Proper Guidelines 2012).
Going forward, the set of required documents and information for
initial appointments set out in Annex III of the Fit&Proper
Guidelines will be expanded to include the following:
- Personal details: A list of referees (which so far was
limited to references of employers of the last three years, if
applicable) as well as more details about the position for which
the assessment is sought (eg a letter of appointment, any
associated board minutes or a suitability assessment report, the
planned start date as well as the duration of the mandate, a
description of the individual's key duties and responsibilities
and – if the person is replacing someone – the name of
this person) need to be provided.
- Knowledge, skills and experience shall not only be
demonstrated by a CV, but the Institution shall also enclose a
statement of whether or not the individual has been assessed as
having the requisite experience as per the Fit&Proper
Guidelines and, if not, details of the training plan imposed,
including the content, the provider and the date by which the
training plan will be completed.
- Good repute, honesty, integrity: This is now subject to
increasingly detailed and stringent requirements. For instance,
information on "investigations, enforcement proceedings or
sanctions in which the individual has been directly or
indirectly involved."
- Conflicts of interest: All financial or non-financial
interests that could create a potential conflict of interest need
to be disclosed. The illustrative list of factors which could
create a potential conflict of interest has been expanded and
includes, amongst others, close personal or business relations with
the Institution, its management, parent or subsidiaries or any
person holding a qualified holding therein, as well as competing
interests or any positions of political influence. If a material
conflict of interest is identified, the Institution should provide
a statement on how this conflict has been satisfactorily mitigated
or remedied, including a reference to the relevant parts of the
Institution's conflicts of interest policy or any bespoke
conflict management or mitigation arrangements.
- Time commitment: More detailed information needs to be
provided in order to show that the individual has sufficient time
to commit to the mandate. This includes, eg annual and monthly
minimum time indications devoted to the mandate, the number and
nature of other commercial and non-commercial mandates, including
the number of meetings per year dedicated to each mandate, etc.
- Collective knowledge, skills and experience: The Institution should provide an overall assessment of the collective suitability of the management body as a whole, including a statement on how the individual is situated in such overall suitability. Any gaps or weaknesses identified and measures imposed to address these need to be identified.
Monitoring and reassessment
Institutions are obliged to monitor the individual and collective
suitability of the management body. Significant Institutions should
perform a periodic suitability reassessment at least annually or if
triggered by a specific event. Non-significant credit institutions
should perform a periodic suitability reassessment at least every
two years or in case triggered by a specific event.
Next steps
The Fit&Proper Guidelines will enter into force on
30 June 2018, repealing the Fit&Proper Guidelines
2012 at the same time, and will be applied by competent authorities
as of that date.
However, Institutions should apply the Fit&Proper Guidelines
to any initial suitability assessment of members of the management
body and key function holders appointed already before
30 June 2018.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.