(4)To determine the systemic impact of the ICT third-party service provider on the stability, continuity or quality of the provision of financial services it is of paramount importance to develop a clear view on the extent and nature of systemic impact which a large-scale operational failure of an ICT third-party service provider would have on financial entities, which rely on services provided by an ICT third-party service provider, and on the financial system. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the number of financial entities of a specific category of financial entities using the same ICT services, as well as the value of their assets to assess whether it is relevant to consider the ICT third-party service provider offering those ICT services as critical. Furthermore, a qualitative assessment of the systemic importance and interconnectedness of ICT third-party service providers, as well as the importance of the services provided by an ICT third-party provider on financial entities’ provision of financial services taking into account the stability and the continuity of the services should be carried out to determine the systemic impact of the ICT third-party service provider on the activities of financial entities.