Section 6

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.