106T.— (1) A proposed acquirer shall not, directly or indirectly, acquire a beneficial interest in the holder of a registration without the prior approval of the Bank in writing of the intended size of the interest.

(2) A notification under subsection (1) shall include sufficient information to enable the Bank to consider the proposed acquisition according to the nature of the proposed acquirer and the proposed acquisition, and in particular shall include information on who the proposed acquirers are, the persons to be responsible for their management (where applicable), how the proposed acquisition is to be financed and the structure of the resulting group.

(3) In assessing a proposed acquisition, the Bank shall—

(a) have regard to the likely influence of the proposed acquirer on the holder of the registration concerned, and

(b) appraise the suitability of the proposed acquirer and the financial soundness of the proposed acquisition concerned against all of the following criteria:

(i) the reputation of the proposed acquirer;

(ii) the reputation and experience of the individuals who will direct the business of the holder of the registration concerned as a result of the proposed acquisition;

(iii) the financial soundness of the proposed acquirer, in particular in relation to the type of business pursued and envisaged by the holder of the registration concerned;

(iv) whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that, in connection with the proposed acquisition, money laundering or terrorist financing is being or has been committed or attempted, or that the proposed acquisition could increase the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.

(4) If, on completing the assessment of a proposed acquisition, the Bank decides to oppose it, the Bank will inform the proposed acquirer concerned in writing and give reasons for that decision and the proposed acquirer shall not complete the proposed acquisition.

(5) If a proposed acquirer purports to complete a proposed acquisition in contravention of subsection (4)—

(a) the purported acquisition is of no effect to pass title to any share or any other interest, and

(b) any exercise of powers based on the purported acquisition of the interest concerned is void.

(6) A decision by the Bank to oppose a proposed acquisition is an appealable decision for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Act of 1942.

(7) In this section—

"proposed acquirer" means a person who proposes to acquire or increase a beneficial interest in the holder of a registration and includes a group of persons acting in concert to acquire such an interest;

"proposed acquisition" means the proposed acquisition of a beneficial interest in the holder of a registration.]