Duty to Notify the Appointment of the Auditor, Appointment in Special Cases

(1) The institution must notify BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank without delay of the appointment of an auditor or group auditor. BaFin may, within two months of receipt of the notification, require the appointment of a different auditor, where this is necessary to achieve the purpose of the audit. The appointment of a different auditor is as a rule necessary to achieve the purpose of the audit where an institution that is not an undertaking of public interest within the meaning of section 316a, second sentence, no. 1 of the Commercial Code has notified BaFin of the same auditor for at least eleven consecutive financial years. BaFin may also require the appointment of a different auditor where facts come to its knowledge that justify the assumption that the auditor has breached its duties under section 24(2).
(2) The registration court of the institution's seat must, on BaFin's application, appoint an auditor where 1. the appointment under subsection (1), first sentence, has not been notified without delay after the end of the financial year; 2. the institution does not comply without delay with a request for the appointment of a different auditor under subsection (1), second or fourth sentence; 3. the selected auditor has declined the audit engagement, has ceased to be available, or is prevented from completing the audit in time, and the institution has not without delay appointed a different auditor. The court's appointment is final. Section 318(5) of the Commercial Code applies correspondingly. The registration court may, on BaFin's application, remove an auditor appointed under the first sentence.