Member States shall provide that all persons working for or who have worked for the competent authorities and auditors or experts acting on behalf of the competent authorities shall be bound by the obligation of professional secrecy.

Confidential information which such persons, auditors or experts receive in the course of their duties may be disclosed only in summary or aggregate form, such that individual credit institutions cannot be identified, without prejudice to cases covered by criminal law.

Nevertheless, where a credit institution has been declared bankrupt or is being compulsorily wound up, confidential information which does not concern third parties involved in attempts to rescue that credit institution may be disclosed in civil or commercial proceedings.

Paragraph 1 shall not prevent the competent authorities from exchanging information with each other or transmitting information to the ESRB, EBA, or the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) ("ESMA") established by Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council27 in accordance with this Directive, with Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, with other Directives applicable to credit institutions, with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1092/2010, with Articles 31, 35 and 36 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 and with Articles 31 and 36 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. That information shall be subject to paragraph 1.

Paragraph 1 shall not prevent the competent authorities from publishing the outcome of stress tests carried out in accordance with Article 100 of this Directive or Article 32 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 or from transmitting the outcome of stress tests to EBA for the purpose of the publication by EBA of the results of Union-wide stress tests.

Where the authorities or bodies referred to in paragraph 1 perform their task of detection or investigation with the aid, in view of their specific competence, of persons appointed for that purpose and not employed in the public sector, a Member State may extend the possibility of exchanging information provided for in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3 to such persons under the conditions specified in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3.

The competent authorities shall communicate to EBA the names of the authorities or bodies which may receive information pursuant to this Article.

In order to implement paragraph 4, the authorities or bodies referred to in paragraph 3 shall communicate to the competent authorities which have disclosed the information, the names and precise responsibilities of the persons to whom it is to be sent.

Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent the authorities or bodies referred to in paragraph 1 from communicating to the competent authorities such information as the competent authorities may need for the purposes of Article 54.

Information received in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be subject to professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to those referred to in Article 53(1).

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in an emergency situation as referred to in Article 114(1), the competent authorities communicate, without delay, information to the ESCB central banks where that information is relevant for the exercise of their statutory tasks, including the conduct of monetary policy and related liquidity provision, the oversight of payments, clearing and settlement systems, and the safeguarding of the stability of the financial system, and to the ESRB where such information is relevant for the exercise of its statutory tasks.

Where the request is made by any of the entities referred to in paragraph 1, competent authorities may only transmit aggregate or anonymised information and may only share other information at the premises of the competent authority.

To the extent that the disclosure of information involves processing of personal data, any processing of personal data by the requesting body shall comply with the requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council30.

Notwithstanding Article 53(1) and Article 54, Member States may, by virtue of provisions laid down in national law, authorise the disclosure of certain information to other departments of their central government administrations responsible for law on the supervision of institutions, financial institutions and insurance undertakings and to inspectors acting on behalf of those departments.

However, such disclosures may be made only where necessary for reasons of prudential supervision, and prevention and resolution of failing institutions. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, persons having access to the information shall be subject to professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to those referred to in Article 53(1).

In an emergency situation as referred to in Article 114(1), Member States shall allow competent authorities to disclose information which is relevant to the departments referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph in all Member States concerned.

Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent the competent authorities of a Member State from communicating the information referred to in Articles 53, 54 and 55 to a clearing house or other similar body recognised under national law for the provision of clearing or settlement services for one of their national markets if they consider that it is necessary to communicate the information in order to ensure the proper functioning of those bodies in relation to defaults or potential defaults by market participants. The information received shall be subject to professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to those referred to in Article 53(1).

Member States shall, however, ensure that information received under Article 53(2) shall not be disclosed in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 without the express consent of the competent authorities, which have disclosed it.