Question
In case Article 7(1) of the IFR applies, does the requirement to comply with the reporting requirements under Article 54 of the IFR rest exclusively on either a Union parent investment firm, Union parent investment holding company or Union parent mixed financial holding company?
Background on the question
Article 7 of the IFR specifies that ‘Union parent investment firms, Union parent investment holding companies and Union parent mixed financial holding companies shall comply with the obligations laid down in Parts Two, Three, Four, Six and Seven on the basis of their consolidated situation’. The reporting requirements under Article 54 are laid down in Part Seven of the IFR. From a combined reading of Article 7 and 54 of the IFR, it could be inferred that the requirement to comply with Article 54 of the IFR on a consolidated basis rests exclusively on Union parent investment firms, Union parent investment holding companies and Union parent mixed financial holding companies. However, Article 4 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2284, titled as ‘Application of reporting requirements on a consolidated basis’, provides that ‘In order to comply with the reporting requirements referred to in Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 on a consolidated basis, investment firms shall report the information specified in Articles 5 and 6 of this Implementing Regulation with the frequency specified therein’. This would imply that the consolidated reporting requirement in fact rests on the investment firm.
Answer
Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 (IFR) states that Union parent investment firms, Union parent investment holding companies and Union parent mixed financial holding companies shall comply, among others, with the obligations laid down in Part Seven, that deals with supervisory reporting, on the basis of their consolidated situation. Article 4 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2284 lays out the requirements for the consolidated reporting referred to in Article 54 of the IFR. The article, in line with the rest of that delegated regulation, refers generically to investment firms. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2284 lays down implementing technical standards for the application of provisions pertaining to supervisory reporting and disclosures of investment firms, thus it is meant to provide templates and instructions aimed at fulfilling the obligations set out in Art. 54 of the IFR, and does not provide a different interpretation of that Regulation. In light of the above, Article 4 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2284 should be intended as referring to “Union parent investment firms, Union parent investment holding companies and Union parent mixed financial holding”, thus the obligation to comply with Part Seven of the IFR on the basis of their consolidated situation rests with the Union parent investment firms, Union parent investment holding companies or Union parent mixed financial holding companies.