Parent undertakings with their registered office in a third country

(1) For an insurance undertaking of a group whose parent undertaking is an insurance holding company, a mixed financial holding company, or an insurance undertaking with its registered office in a third country, it must be determined whether it is supervised by the supervisory authority of the third country concerned in a manner equivalent to the group supervision applied in the member or contracting states. The determination is made of the authority's own motion or on the application of one of the undertakings concerned. Where the European Commission has issued a delegated act under Article 260(3) of Directive 2009/138/EC in respect of a third country, this is recognised as binding.
(2) Where the European Commission has not issued a delegated act on the equivalence of the supervisory system of the third country concerned, the supervisory authority, where it would be competent for group supervision on applying the criteria named in section 279(2), makes the determination within the meaning of subsection (1). Before its decision, it must involve the other affected supervisory authorities and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority.
(3) The determination is made on the basis of the criteria laid down by the European Commission under Article 260(2) of Directive 2009/138/EC. The group supervisory authority is bound by a determination previously made in respect of a third country. This does not apply where a fresh assessment is necessary because the supervisory system described in Title I, Chapter VI, of Directive 2009/138/EC, or the third country's supervisory system, has changed materially.
(4) Where the supervisory authority is an affected supervisory authority and does not agree with the determination, it may, under Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010, refer the matter to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority within three months of the notification of the decision by the authority acting as group supervisory authority, and request its assistance.
(5) Where the European Commission has determined, in a delegated act under Article 260(5) of Directive 2009/138/EC, that the supervisory provisions of a third country are provisionally regarded as equivalent, section 289 applies during the period named in that act. This does not apply where an insurance undertaking with its registered office domestically has a balance sheet total exceeding that of the parent undertaking with its registered office in a third country. In this case, the authority acting as group supervisory authority assumes the function of group supervisory authority.