French Insurance Code
In forceThe institutions for occupational retirement provision referred to in Article L. 370-1 are subject to supervision by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution and, where applicable, by other competent authorities in France in accordance with the legislative and regulatory provisions applicable to the operations referred to in Article L. 370-2. These authorities shall ensure that these institutions carry out their activities in accordance with the provisions of social and labour law referred to in Article L. 370-2 and in the first paragraph of Article L. 370-3.
Where an institution for occupational retirement provision offering the operations referred to in the first paragraph of Article L. 381-1 in the territory of the French Republic has breached one of the provisions referred to in the first paragraph, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution, where appropriate referred to by the competent authorities, shall immediately notify the competent authority of the State in which the institution is authorised of this breach and request it to take the necessary measures, in conjunction with the competent authority, to put an end to the breach. If, after a period of two months following this notification, the infringement persists, the Authority may:
1° Prohibit or restrict the activities of this institution in the territory of the French Republic, including the acceptance of premiums or the payment of surrender values, the option of arbitration, the payment of policy loans or the option of surrender or transfer. Such a measure may be taken in particular if the institution:
a) Does not adequately protect the interests of members and beneficiaries;
b) No longer complies with its operating rules or conditions;
c) Does not comply with the requirements of social and labour law in force in the territory of the French Republic with regard to occupational pension schemes;
2° Impose on the institution the disciplinary sanctions mentioned in 1° to 3° of Article L. 612-39 of the Monetary and Financial Code, as well as the financial penalty mentioned in the same article. For the implementation of these procedures, the provisions of IV of Article L. 612-15 and of the last paragraph of Article L. 612-43 and, where applicable, of Article L. 612-28 of the Monetary and Financial Code shall apply. The AMF may decide to postpone its decision until the institution has taken all necessary measures to put an end to the infringement.
The Authority may refer the matter to the competent authorities of the Member State or other State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area in which the institution has its registered office or principal place of business, for a ruling on the establishment of a separate accounting system for the operations of the institution referred to in the first paragraph of Article L. 381-1 of the Insurance Code and in Article L. 3334-2 of the Labour Code.
The competent authority of the Member State or other State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area in which the institution has its registered office or principal place of business may submit a request to the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution to prohibit the free disposal of the assets of this institution held by an institution authorised to carry out the activities of custody or administration of financial instruments pursuant toArticle L. 542-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code and having its registered office in France. Without prejudice to the third paragraph of article L. 323-1-1, the AMF shall refer the matter to the president of the judicial court with territorial jurisdiction for an interim ruling on such a prohibition, where this is necessary to prevent or remedy an irregularity, including in relation to technical provisions or the coverage of such provisions, which would be detrimental to the interests of members and beneficiaries.
A Conseil d'Etat decree specifies the conditions for application of this article, in particular the rules for investment and coverage of commitments applicable to the institutions mentioned in article L. 370-1.
An order of the Minister responsible for the economy shall also determine the nature and content of the information and documents that the institutions referred to in Article L. 370-1 are required to communicate on request to the competent authorities to enable them to carry out the supervision provided for in the first paragraph.
