Paragraph 2: Provisions relating to professional customers

The following are deemed to be professional clients within the meaning of article L. 533-16, for all investment services and all financial instruments:

1. a) The credit institutions referred to in article L. 511-9 ;

b) The investment firms referred to in Article L. 531-4;

c) Other authorised or regulated financial institutions;

d) Insurance and reinsurance undertakings referred to respectively in the first paragraph of article L. 310-1 and article L. 310-1-1 of the French Insurance Code, insurance group companies referred to in article L. 322-1-2 of the same Code, mutual insurers and associations of mutual insurers covered by Book II of the French Mutual Code, mutual group associations referred to in article L. 111-4-2 of the same code, provident institutions and their unions governed by Title III of Book IX of the Social Security Code as well as the social protection insurance group companies mentioned in Article L. 931-2-2 of the same code;

e) The collective investments mentioned in I of article L. 214-1 as well as the collective investment management companies mentioned in article L. 543-1 ;

f) The pension reserve fund mentioned in article L. 135-6 of the Social Security Code, the occupational pension institutions mentioned in article L. 370-1 of the Insurance Code for their operations mentioned in article L. 370-2 of the same code, as well as the legal entities administering an occupational pension institution mentioned in article 8 of order no. 2006-344 of 23 March 2006 relating to supplementary occupational pensions;

g) Persons whose principal activity consists of dealing on own account in commodities or commodity derivatives, as referred to in j of 2° of Article L. 531-2 ;

h) (Repealed) ;

i) The Caisse des dépôts et consignations and other authorised or regulated institutional investors.

2. Entities meeting at least two of the following three criteria, based on individual accounting statements:

- balance sheet total equal to or greater than €20 million ;

- net sales or net income of at least €40 million; and

- equity of at least €2 million;

3. The French State, the Caisse de la dette publique, the Caisse d'amortissement de la dette sociale, the Banque de France, the Institut d'émission des départements d'outre-mer and the Institut d'émission d'outre-mer ;

4. Other institutional investors whose main activity consists of investing in financial instruments, and in particular the investment companies mentioned in article 6 of the Order of 2 November 1945, the venture capital companies mentioned in article 1 of law no. 85-695 of 11 July 1985 and the financial innovation companies mentioned in III of article 4 of law no. 72-650 of 11 July 1972;

5. Entities governed by foreign law which are equivalent to those mentioned in 1 to 4 or which have professional client status in another Member State of the European Union or another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

6. Public international financial organisations to which France or any other Member State of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development belongs.