Article 32
1.
Member States shall ensure that resolution authorities shall take a resolution action in relation to an institution referred to in point (a) of Article 1(1) only if the resolution authority considers that all of the following conditions are met:
(a)
the determination that the institution is failing or is likely to fail has been made by the competent authority, after consulting the resolution authority or,; subject to the conditions laid down in paragraph 2, by the resolution authority after consulting the competent authority;
(b)
having regard to timing and other relevant circumstances, there is no reasonable prospect that any alternative private sector measures, including measures by an IPS, or supervisory action, including early intervention measures or the write down or conversion of relevant capital instruments and eligible liabilities in accordance with Article 59(2) taken in respect of the institution, would prevent the failure of the institution within a reasonable timeframe;
(c)
a resolution action is necessary in the public interest pursuant to paragraph 5.
2.
Member States may provide that, in addition to the competent authority, the determination that the institution is failing or likely to fail under point (a) of paragraph 1 can be made by the resolution authority, after consulting the competent authority, where resolution authorities under national law have the necessary tools for making such a determination including, in particular, adequate access to the relevant information. The competent authority shall provide the resolution authority with any relevant information that the latter requests in order to perform its assessment without delay.
3.
The previous adoption of an early intervention measure according to Article 27 is not a condition for taking a resolution action.
4.
For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 1, an institution shall be deemed to be failing or likely to fail in one or more of the following circumstances:
(a)
the institution infringes or there are objective elements to support a determination that the institution will, in the near future, infringe the requirements for continuing authorisation in a way that would justify the withdrawal of the authorisation by the competent authority including but not limited to because the institution has incurred or is likely to incur losses that will deplete all or a significant amount of its own funds;
(b)
the assets of the institution are or there are objective elements to support a determination that the assets of the institution will, in the near future, be less than its liabilities;
(c)
the institution is or there are objective elements to support a determination that the institution will, in the near future, be unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fall due;
(d)
extraordinary public financial support is required except when, in order to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State and preserve financial stability, the extraordinary public financial support takes any of the following forms:
(i)
a State guarantee to back liquidity facilities provided by central banks according to the central banks’ conditions;
(ii)
a State guarantee of newly issued liabilities; or
(iii)
an injection of own funds or purchase of capital instruments at prices and on terms that do not confer an advantage upon the institution, where neither the circumstances referred to in point (a), (b) or (c) of this paragraph nor the circumstances referred to in Article 59(3) are present at the time the public support is granted.
In each of the cases mentioned in points (d)(i), (ii) and (iii) of the first subparagraph, the guarantee or equivalent measures referred to therein shall be confined to solvent institutions and shall be conditional on final approval under the Union State aid framework. Those measures shall be of a precautionary and temporary nature and shall be proportionate to remedy the consequences of the serious disturbance and shall not be used to offset losses that the institution has incurred or is likely to incur in the near future.
Support measures under point (d)(iii) of the first subparagraph shall be limited to injections necessary to address capital shortfall established in the national, Union or SSM-wide stress tests, asset quality reviews or equivalent exercises conducted by the European Central Bank, EBA or national authorities, where applicable, confirmed by the competent authority.
EBA shall, by 3 January 2015, issue guidelines in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 on the type of tests, reviews or exercises referred to above which may lead to such support.
By 31 December 2015, the Commission shall review whether there is a continuing need for allowing the support measures under point (d)(iii) of the first subparagraph and the conditions that need to be met in the case of continuation and report thereon to the European Parliament and to the Council. If appropriate, that report shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal.
5.
For the purposes of point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, a resolution action shall be treated as in the public interest if it is necessary for the achievement of and is proportionate to one or more of the resolution objectives referred to in Article 31 and winding up of the institution under normal insolvency proceedings would not meet those resolution objectives to the same extent.
6.
EBA shall, by 3 July 2015, issue guidelines in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 to promote the convergence of supervisory and resolution practices regarding the interpretation of the different circumstances when an institution shall be considered to be failing or likely to fail.