67.— (1) The Minister, after consultation with the Governor F12[…], may designate an applicant credit institution as a participating institution if the credit institution has applied under section 62 to be so designated.

(2) The Minister shall not designate an applicant credit institution as a participating institution unless he or she is satisfied that—

(a) the applicant credit institution is systemically important to the financial system in the State,

(b) the acquisition of bank assets from the applicant credit institution or its subsidiaries is necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act, having regard to—

(i) support that—

(I) is available to,

(II) has been received by, or

(III) in normal commercial circumstances might reasonably be expected, or might reasonably have been expected, to be or to have been available to,

the applicant credit institution or its subsidiaries from the State, any other Member State or a member of the group of the applicant credit institution,

(ii) the financial situation and stability of the applicant credit institution and its subsidiaries,

(iii) the financial situation and stability of the applicant credit institution’s group in the event that bank assets are not acquired from the applicant credit institution or its subsidiaries, and

(iv) the resources available to NAMA and the Minister,

and

(c) the applicant credit institution has complied with all of its applicable obligations under this Act.

(3) The designation of an applicant credit institution as a participating institution operates to designate as participating institutions all of its subsidiaries except any subsidiary excluded under subsection (6).

(4) Designation (including designation of a subsidiary in accordance with subsection (3)) has effect notwithstanding the absence of any necessary consent to the relevant application. Designation of a subsidiary does not prejudice any rights that the subsidiary may have against the relevant applicant credit institution.

(5) Before deciding whether to designate an applicant credit institution as a participating institution, the Minister, having consulted the F13[Central Bank], may direct that specified due diligence and stress testing of the applicant credit institution or any member of its group be carried out.

(6) If the Minister designates an applicant credit institution as a participating institution, he or she may exclude any subsidiary of the applicant credit institution from designation on any condition that he or she specifies, if he or she is satisfied that the subsidiary should not be designated.

(7) Where the Minister has specified a condition under subsection (6) in relation to the exclusion of a subsidiary of an applicant credit institution, and there is a failure to comply with the condition, the Minister may, by written notice to the applicant credit institution and the subsidiary, designate the subsidiary as a participating institution as at and from the date of the notice or a later date that the Minister specifies in the notice.

(8) If the Minister has not designated a credit institution as a participating institution within 3 months after its application under section 62, the Minister is taken to have refused the application.