French Monetary and Financial Code
In forceI. - Any member of a board of directors or, as the case may be, of a supervisory board and any person who, in any capacity whatsoever, participates in the management or administration of a payment institution or who is employed by a payment institution is bound by professional secrecy.
Apart from cases where the law so provides, professional secrecy may not be invoked against the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution, the Banque de France, the Institut d'émission d'outre-mer, the Institut d'émission des départements d'outre-mer or the judicial authorities acting in connection with criminal proceedings.
Payment institutions may communicate information covered by professional secrecy to the persons with whom they negotiate, conclude or execute the transactions mentioned in 1° to 5°, provided that this information is necessary for such transactions:
1° Acquisitions of shareholdings or control in a payment institution ;
2° Transfers of assets or businesses;
3° Assignment or transfer of contracts;
4° Contracts for the provision of services concluded with a third party with a view to entrusting it with important operational functions;
5° During the study or preparation of any type of contract or transaction, where these entities belong to the same group as the party making the communication.
In addition to the cases mentioned in 1° to 5°, payment institutions may disclose information covered by professional secrecy on a case-by-case basis and only when the persons concerned have expressly given their permission to do so.
Persons receiving information covered by professional secrecy, which has been provided to them for the purposes of one of the operations set out above, must keep it confidential, whether or not the aforementioned operation is successful. However, in the event that the aforementioned transaction is successful, these persons may in turn communicate the information covered by professional secrecy under the same conditions as those referred to in this article to the persons with whom they negotiate, conclude or execute the aforementioned transactions.
II. - The provisions of article L. 232-1 of the French Commercial Code are applicable to all payment institutions under conditions set by the French Accounting Standards Authority (Autorité des normes comptables) after obtaining the opinion of the French Advisory Committee on Financial Legislation and Regulation (Comité consultatif de la législation et de la réglementation financières).
III. - When they draw up their accounts in consolidated form, payment institutions do so in accordance with the rules defined by regulation of the Autorité des normes comptables (French Accounting Standards Authority) issued after consulting the Comité consultatif de la législation et de la réglementation financières (French Advisory Committee on Financial Legislation and Regulation). However, they are exempt from complying with these rules when they use the international accounting standards adopted by regulation of the European Commission.
IV. - All payment institutions must publish their annual accounts in accordance with the conditions set by the Autorité des normes comptables after receiving the opinion of the Comité consultatif de la législation et de la réglementation financières.
The Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution shall ensure that the publications provided for above are made on a regular basis. It may order the payment institution to make corrective disclosures if inaccuracies or omissions have been found in the documents published.
It may provide the public with any information it deems necessary.
V. - Payment institutions are bound by the obligations of Articles L. 511-38 and L. 511-39.
