1. If the criteria set out in Article 379 above have been fulfilled by a third country, the Treasury may by regulations determine that the supervisory regime of that third country is equivalent to that laid down in the United Kingdom law which implemented the Solvency 2 Directive.
2. Regulations under paragraph 1 must be regularly reviewed by the Treasury, in order to take into account any significant changes to the supervisory regime laid down in the United Kingdom law which implemented the Solvency 2 Directive, and to the supervisory regime in the third country.
3. The PRA must publish and keep up to date on its website a list of all third countries in respect of which the Treasury have made regulations under paragraph 1.
4. The Treasury may, irrespective of whether the criteria specified in Article 379 have been fulfilled, by regulations determine that for the period referred to in paragraph 6, the solvency regime of a third country that applies to undertakings with the head office in that third country is provisionally equivalent to that laid down in the United Kingdom law which implemented the Solvency 2 Directive, where:
(a) it can be shown that a solvency regime capable of being assessed as equivalent in accordance with Article 379 is currently in place or may be adopted and applied by the third country;
(b) the third country has a solvency regime that is risk based and establishes quantitative and qualitative solvency requirements and requirements relating to supervisory reporting and transparency;
(c) the third country's law, in principle, allows cooperation, and exchange of confidential supervisory information, with the PRA;
(d) the third country has an independent system of supervision; and
(e) the third country has established obligations on professional secrecy for all persons acting on behalf of its supervisory authorities.
5. The PRA must publish and keep up to date on its website a list of all third countries in respect of which the Treasury have made regulations under paragraph 4.
6. The initial period of provisional equivalence referred to in paragraph 4 must be 10 years, unless before the expiry of that period:
(a) the regulations made by the Treasury have been revoked; or
(b) the Treasury have made regulations in accordance with paragraph 1 to the effect that the supervisory regime of that third country has been determined to be equivalent to that laid down in the United Kingdom law which implemented the Solvency 2 Directive.
8. Provisional equivalence must be subject to renewals for further periods of 10 years where the criteria referred to in paragraph 4 continue to be met. The Treasury may by regulations renew the period of provisional equivalence in accordance with this paragraph.
9. Where, in accordance with paragraph 4, the Treasury have made regulations determining that the supervisory regime of a third country is provisionally equivalent, that third country must be deemed to be equivalent for the purposes of Regulation 19 of the Solvency 2 Regulations 2015.]
Textual Amendments
F1 Art. 379A inserted (31.12.2020) by The Solvency 2 and Insurance (Amendment, etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/407), regs. 1(2), 11(94) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1385, regs. 1(2), 54(2) and with savings in S.I. 2019/680, reg. 11)