31M.—(1) The Bank may—

(a) submit a proposal to the ECB to withdraw a Class 1 authorisation if the holder of the Class 1 authorisation so requests,

(b) submit a proposal to the ECB to withdraw a Class 1 authorisation if the holder of the authorisation—

(i) (I) has not commenced activities within twelve months of the date on which the authorisation was granted, or

(II) has ceased activities and has not resumed activities during a period of more than six months immediately following the cesser,

(ii) being a company, is being wound up,

(iii) is an undertaking having its registered office and its head office both located in the State, which is being duly wound up or otherwise dissolved,

(iv) has obtained the authorisation through false statements or any other irregular means,

(v) becomes unable to meet its obligations to its creditors or suspends payments lawfully due by it or no longer possesses sufficient own funds (being own funds to which the Capital Requirements Directive relates) or can no longer be relied upon to fulfil their obligations towards their creditors, and in particular no longer provides security for the assets entrusted to them,

(vi) is convicted on indictment of an offence under any provision of this Act or an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or breach of trust,

(vii) no longer fulfils the conditions under which the Class 1 authorisation was granted,

(viii) no longer meets the prudential requirements—

(I) set out in Parts Three (other than Articles 92a and 92b), Four or Six of the Capital Requirements Regulation, or

(II) imposed under Regulation 92(2)(a) or 93 of the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014,

or can no longer be relied on to fulfil its obligations towards its creditors, and, in particular, no longer provides security for the assets entrusted to it by its depositors,

(ix) commits one of the breaches referred to in Regulation 55 of the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014, or

(x) uses its licence exclusively to engage in the activities referred to in point (1)(b) of Article 4(1) of the Capital Requirements Regulation and has, for a period of five consecutive years, average total assets below the thresholds set out in that Article,

(c) submit a proposal to the ECB to withdraw a Class 1 authorisation if the business of, or the corporate structure of, the holder of the authorisation has been so organised or the holder of the authorisation has come under the control of any other undertaking not supervised by the Bank, such that the holder is no longer capable of being supervised to the satisfaction of the Bank, or

(d) submit a proposal to the ECB to withdraw a Class 1 authorisation if, since the grant of the authorisation, the circumstances relevant to the grant have changed and are such that, if an application for the authorisation were made in the changed circumstances, it would be refused.

(2) Whenever the Bank proposes to submit a proposal to the ECB to withdraw a Class 1 authorisation (other than in circumstances to which paragraph (a) of subsection (1) relates)—

(a) it shall notify the holder in writing of the reasons for the withdrawal and that the holder may, within twenty-one days after the date of the giving of the notification, make representations in writing to the Bank in relation to the proposed withdrawal,

(b) the holder may make such representations in writing to the Bank within the time aforesaid, and

(c) the Bank shall consider any representations duly made to it under this subsection in relation to the proposed withdrawal.

(3) Where a Class 1 authorisation is withdrawn by the ECB and the person who was the holder of the authorisation is not a company which is being wound up—

(a) that person shall, as soon as possible after the authorisation is withdrawn by the ECB—

(i) notify the Bank, and

(ii) as far as is reasonably practicable, notify every client concerned,

of the measures he is taking or proposes to take to discharge in full and without undue delay his liabilities in respect of those clients, and

(b) in the case where—

(i) that person has notified the Bank in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection and the Bank is of the opinion that the measures being taken or proposed to be taken for the purposes of that paragraph are not satisfactory,

(ii) that person has not so notified the Bank and the Bank is of the opinion that he has failed to so notify as soon as possible after the authorisation is withdrawn by the ECB, or

(iii) the Bank is of the opinion that that person has not taken all reasonable steps to so notify every client concerned,

then the Bank may give a direction in writing to that person for such period, not exceeding six months, as may be specified therein, prohibiting him from—

(I) dealing with or disposing of any of his assets or specified assets in any manner,

(II) engaging in any transaction or class of transaction or specified transaction, or

(III) making payments,

without the prior authorisation of the Bank, and the Bank may require that person to prepare and submit to it for its approval within two months of the direction, a scheme for the orderly discharge in full of his liabilities to the clients concerned.

(4) (a) Where a Class 1 authorisation is withdrawn by the ECB and the holder of the authorisation is a company which is being wound up, the liquidator of the company shall, in addition to his duties and obligations in respect of the winding up, be subject to the duties and obligations to which the company would be subject were it a company to which subsection (3) relates and that subsection shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be construed accordingly.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Bank may, where the ECB withdraws a Class 1 authorisation and the Bank considers it appropriate in the circumstances, remove in writing the duty and obligation imposed on the liquidator concerned to comply with paragraph (b) (as construed by this subsection) of subsection (3) and may impose in writing on that liquidator such further or other duty and obligation which corresponds to that set out in the said paragraph (b).

(5) Where the holder of a Class 1 authorisation—

(a) has its head office in another Member State, or

(b) carries on Class 1 business through a branch established in another such state,

the Bank shall, before deciding to submit a proposal to the ECB to withdraw a Class 1 authorisation, consult with the authority in that state that exercises in that state functions corresponding to those of the Bank under this Part, provided however that if immediate action by the Bank is called for it shall not be necessary for the Bank to consult as aforesaid but in such a case the Bank shall notify the authority concerned of the withdrawal of the Class 1 authorisation.

(6) In this section—

(a) an undertaking shall be treated as a fellow subsidiary of another undertaking if both are subsidiaries of the same undertaking but neither is a subsidiary of the other undertaking,

(b) “subsidiary undertaking”—

(i) in relation to an undertaking incorporated in, or formed under the law of the State has the same meaning as it has in Part 6 of the Companies Act 2014 (No. 38 of 2014), and

(ii) in relation to an undertaking incorporated in, or formed under the law of another, Member State, means any undertaking which is a subsidiary undertaking within the meaning of any rule or law in force in that State for the purposes of giving effect to Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 201317 ,

(c) “control” has the same meaning as it has in the European Union (Capital Requirements) Regulations 2014, and

(d) “associated undertaking” has the same meaning it has in paragraph 22 of Schedule 4 or Schedule 4A of the Companies Act 2014, as applicable.]