(1)

In order to give the person subject to investigation of an alleged infringement set out in Annex V or VI to Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 the opportunity to be heard, that person should have the right to make written comments on the statement of findings of the investigation within a reasonable time limit of not less than four weeks before the investigation officer is to submit its findings to the EBA. The person subject to investigation should be allowed to be assisted by a counsel of their choice during the investigation. The investigation officer should consider whether, as a result of the submissions made by the person subject to investigation, it is necessary to amend the statement of findings before submitting it to the EBA.

(2)

The EBA should check the completeness of the file submitted by the investigation officer based on a list of documents. To ensure that the person subject to investigation is able to adequately prepare their defence, before adopting a final decision with regard to fines or supervisory measures, the EBA should provide them with the right to provide further written comments.

(3)

To ensure that a person subject to investigation cooperates, the EBA should be able to take certain coercive measures. When the EBA has taken a decision requiring a person subject to investigation to bring an infringement to an end or has requested them to supply complete information or to submit complete records, data or any other material, or has taken a decision to conduct an on-site inspection, it may impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel that person to comply with the decision taken. Before imposing periodic penalty payments, the EBA should provide the person subject to investigation with the opportunity to provide written submissions.

(4)

As the investigation officer carries out their work independently, the EBA should not be bound by the file the investigation officer has prepared. However, to ensure that the person subject to the investigation is able to adequately prepare their defence, whether the EBA disagrees or, agrees with all or part of the findings of the investigation officer, they should be informed and be given the opportunity to respond.

(5)

Where the EBA adopts an interim decision pursuant to Article 135(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, it should give the person subject to investigation the opportunity to be heard as soon as possible after adopting the interim decision and before a confirmatory decision is adopted. The procedure should nonetheless grant the right of the person subject to investigation to be heard in advance when the investigation is conducted by an investigation officer.

(6)

The EBA’s power to impose a periodic penalty payment is to be exercised with due regard for the right to defence and is not to be maintained beyond the period necessary. Where the EBA decides to impose a periodic penalty payment, the person concerned should therefore be given the opportunity to be heard and any penalty payment should no longer be due as of the moment the person concerned complies with the decision the EBA has addressed to that person.

(7)

The files prepared by the EBA and the investigation officer contain information that is indispensable to the person concerned in preparing for judicial or administrative proceedings. A person subject to investigation should therefore, after having received the notification of statement of finding either from the investigation officer or from the EBA, be entitled to have access to the file subject to the legitimate interest of other persons in the protection of their business secrets. The use of file documents accessed should only be permitted for judicial or administrative proceedings in relation to infringements of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114.

(8)

Both the power to impose fines and periodic penalty payments and the power to enforce fines and periodic penalty payments should be subject to a limitation period. For reasons of consistency, limitation periods for the imposition and enforcement of fines or periodic penalty payments should take into account existing Union legislation applicable to the imposition and enforcement of penalties on supervised entities and the EBA’s experience in applying such legislation.

(9)

To ensure safekeeping of collected fines and periodic penalties, the EBA should deposit them on interest-bearing accounts that are opened exclusively for the purpose of a single fine or periodic penalty payments aiming at ending a single infringement. As a matter of budgetary prudence, the EBA should only transfer the amounts to the Commission once the decisions are final due to the rights to appeal being exhausted or lapsed,