Article 29
Colleges of competent authorities
1. Within 10 working days of receipt of an application for registration under Article 15, the competent authority of the home Member State, or, in the case of a group of credit rating agencies, the competent authority of the home Member State of the credit rating agency mandated under Article 15(2), shall establish a college of competent authorities in order to facilitate the exercise of the tasks referred to in Articles 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, 20, 24, 25 and 28.
2. The college shall comprise the competent authority of the home Member State and the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 3 in the case of a single agency, or the competent authorities of the home Member States and the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 3 in the case of a group of rating agencies.
3. A competent authority other than the competent authority of the home Member State may at any time decide to become a member of the college provided that:
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(a) |
a branch which is a part of the credit rating agency or of one of the undertakings in the group of credit rating agencies is established within its jurisdiction; or |
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(b) |
the use for regulatory purposes of credit ratings issued by the credit rating agency or the group of credit rating agencies concerned is widespread or has or is likely to have a significant impact within its jurisdiction. |
4. The competent authorities other than the members of the college as referred to in paragraph 3 in the jurisdictions of which the credit ratings issued by the credit rating agency or by the group of credit rating agencies concerned are used may participate in a meeting or in an activity of the college.
5. Within 15 working days of the establishment of the college, its members shall select a facilitator, consulting CESR in the absence of agreement. For that purpose, at least the following criteria shall be taken into account:
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(a) |
the relationship between the competent authority and the credit rating agency or the group of credit rating agencies; |
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(b) |
the extent to which credit ratings will be used for regulatory purposes in a particular territory or territories; |
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(c) |
the place in the Community where the credit rating agency or group of credit rating agencies pursues or is planning to pursue the most important part of its credit rating activities; and |
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(d) |
administrative convenience, burden optimisation, and an appropriate distribution of the workload. |
Members of the college shall review the selection of the facilitator at least every five years to ensure the selected facilitator remains the most appropriate following the criteria referred to in the first subparagraph.
6. The facilitator shall chair the meetings of the college, coordinate the actions of the college and ensure efficient exchange of information among members of the college.
7. In order to ensure close cooperation between competent authorities within the college, the facilitator shall, within 10 working days of his or her selection, establish written coordination arrangements within the framework of the college regarding the following matters:
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(a) |
information to be exchanged between competent authorities; |
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(b) |
the decision-making process between the competent authorities, without prejudice to Articles 16, 17, and 20; |
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(c) |
cases in which the competent authorities must consult each other; |
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(d) |
cases in which the competent authorities must apply the mediation mechanism referred to in Article 31; and |
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(e) |
cases in which the competent authorities may delegate supervisory tasks in accordance with Article 30. |
8. In the absence of agreement concerning the written coordination arrangements under paragraph 7, any member of the college may refer the matter to CESR. The facilitator shall give due consideration to any advice provided by CESR concerning the written coordination arrangements before agreeing their final text. The written coordination arrangements shall be set out in a single document containing full reasons for any significant deviation from the advice of CESR. The facilitator shall transmit the written coordination arrangements to the members of the college and to CESR.