Section 6
Qualifying holdings outside the financial
sector
Article 120
1. No credit institution
may have a qualifying holding the amount of which exceeds 15
% of its own funds in an undertaking which is
neither a credit institution, nor a financial institution, nor an
undertaking carrying on activities which are a direct extension of banking
or concern services ancillary to banking, such as leasing,
factoring, the management of unit trusts, the management of
data processing services or any other similar activity.
2. The total amount of a
credit institution's qualifying holdings in undertakings other than
credit institutions, financial institutions or undertakings carrying on
activities which are a direct extension of banking or
concern services ancillary to banking, such as leasing, factoring,
the management of unit trusts, the management of data
processing services, or any other similar activity may not exceed 60
% of its own funds.
3. The limits laid down in
paragraphs 1 and 2 may be exceeded only in exceptional
circumstances. In such cases, however, the competent authorities shall
require a credit institution either to increase its own funds or
to take other equivalent measures.
Article 121
Shares held temporarily
during a financial reconstruction or rescue operation or during
the normal course of underwriting or in an institution's own
name on behalf of others shall not be counted as qualifying
holdings for the purpose of calculating the limits laid down in
Articles 120(1) and (2).
Shares which are not financial fixed assets as
defined in Article 35(2) of Directive 86/635/EEC shall not be
included in the calculation.
Article 122
1. The Member States need
not apply the limits laid down in Articles 120(1) and (2) to
holdings in insurance companies as defined in Directives
73/239/EEC and 2002/83/EC, or in reinsurance companies as
defined in Directive 98/78/EC.
2. The Member States may
provide that the competent authorities are not to
apply the limits laid down in Article 120 (1) and (2) if they provide
that 100 % of the amounts by which a credit institution's
qualifying holdings exceed those limits shall be covered by own funds and
that the latter shall not be included in the calculation required
under Article 75.
If both the limits laid down in Article 120(1) and
(2) are exceeded, the amount to be covered by own funds shall
be the greater of the excess amounts.
