Regulation on Status Changes of Voluntary Pension Funds - Unofficial Consolidated Text (NN, No. 72/14 and 41/17)

NESLUŽBENI PROČIŠĆENI TEKST NN 72/2014 of 13.06.2014. (in force from 21.06.2014.) NN 41/17 of 27.04.2017. (in force from 01.05.2017.) CROATIAN AGENCY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES SUPERVISION Pursuant to Article 207(5), Article 214(3), Article 221(5) and Article 235(5) of the Act on Voluntary Pension Funds (»Narodne novine« No. 19/2014, hereinafter: the Act), the Croatian Agency for Financial Services Supervision (hereinafter: the Agency) at its Management Board meeting held on 6 June 2014 adopts REGULATION ON STATUS CHANGES OF VOLUNTARY PENSION FUNDS INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS Article 1. This Regulation further specifies the procedure, conditions and manner of implementing status changes of voluntary pension funds, the method of submitting notice of restructuring, and the content and submission method of notices regarding merger or division to fund members. Article 2. For the purposes of this Regulation, certain terms have the following meanings: – Agency means the Croatian Agency for Financial Services Supervision. – Act means the Act on Voluntary Pension Funds (»Narodne novine« No. 19/2014). – Pension company means a pension company for managing voluntary pension funds, as defined by the Act. – Pension fund means a voluntary pension fund, as defined by the Act. MERGER OF FUNDS Article 3. (1) A closed fund may be merged into a closed or open fund, while an open fund may only be merged into another open fund. (2) In the case of merging a closed fund into an open one, together with the application for approval of the merger, the pension company of the transferring fund shall also attach the sponsor's opinion on the intended merger. (3) The application referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the documentation may be submitted by the pension company to the Agency in the manner prescribed by Article 11a of this Regulation. Article 4. (1) Unless the same pension company manages both the transferring and the receiving fund, the pension companies of the transferring and receiving funds shall conclude a written joint Merger Agreement after a positive audit opinion under Article 223 of the Act has been issued for each transferring fund and approval from the Agency for its merger has been obtained. (2) The Merger Agreement referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article must contain the data specified in Article 219(2) of the Act, and may also contain other data or clauses. CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS Article 5. (1) If closed funds are consolidated, the new fund resulting from consolidation may be either a closed or an open fund. (2) If open funds are consolidated, the new fund resulting from consolidation must be an open fund. (3) If a closed and an open fund are consolidated, the new fund resulting from consolidation must be an open fund. Article 6. (1) Unless the same pension company manages both funds being consolidated, the pension companies of the consolidating funds shall conclude a written joint Consolidation Agreement after a positive audit opinion under Article 223 of the Act has been issued for each fund and approval from the Agency for its consolidation has been obtained. (2) The Consolidation Agreement referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article must contain the relevant data specified in Article 219(2) of the Act, and may also contain other data or clauses. (3) The application for approval of fund consolidation and the documentation may be submitted by the pension company to the Agency in the manner prescribed by Article 11a of this Regulation. RESTRUCTURING OF FUNDS Article 7. (1) Together with the application for approval of restructuring a closed fund into an open one, the pension company shall attach, in addition to the documentation specified in Article 213(2) of the Act, the sponsor's opinion on the intended restructuring. (2) The application referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the documentation may be submitted by the pension company to the Agency in the manner prescribed by Article 11a of this Regulation. DIVISION OF FUNDS Article 8. (1) Together with the application for approval of division of a closed fund resulting in a new fund, or receiving fund, being an open fund, the pension company shall attach, in addition to the documentation specified in Article 232(2) of the Act, the sponsor's opinion on the intended division. (2) The application referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the documentation may be submitted by the pension company to the Agency in the manner prescribed by Article 11a of this Regulation. NOTICE OF RESTRUCTURING Article 9. The pension company may fulfill its obligation to notify members of a closed fund in accordance with Article 214 of the Act by one of the following methods:

1. submitting a written notice to the member by post,
2. submitting a notice to the member in electronic form (e-mail), if the member has provided the pension company with its e-mail address for communication purposes,
3. publishing the notice on the pension company's website and simultaneously publishing it in one or more daily newspapers distributed throughout or predominantly within the territory of the Republic of Croatia. NOTICE OF MERGER Article 10. (1) The pension company may fulfill its obligation to notify members of the transferring fund in accordance with Article 221 of the Act by one of the following methods:
4. submitting a written notice to the member by post,
5. submitting a notice to the member in electronic form (e-mail), if the member has provided the pension company with its e-mail address for communication purposes,
6. publishing the notice on the pension company's website and simultaneously publishing it in one or more daily newspapers distributed throughout or predominantly within the territory of the Republic of Croatia. (2) In the case of merging a closed fund into an open one, in addition to the data specified in Article 221(2) of the Act, the notice to members of the transferring fund shall also contain the sponsor's opinion on the intended merger. NOTICE OF DIVISION Article 11. (1) The pension company may fulfill its obligation to notify members of the fund being divided in accordance with Article 235 of the Act by one of the following methods:
7. submitting a written notice to the member by post,
8. submitting a notice to the member in electronic form (e-mail), if the member has provided the pension company with its e-mail address for communication purposes,
9. publishing the notice on the pension company's website and simultaneously publishing it in one or more daily newspapers distributed throughout or predominantly within the territory of the Republic of Croatia. (2) In the case of division of a closed fund resulting in a new or receiving fund being an open fund, in addition to the data specified in Article 235(2) of the Act, the notice to members shall also contain the sponsor's opinion on the intended merger. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION ELECTRONICALLY Article 11a. (1) The pension company may submit the applications and documentation referred to in Articles 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of this Regulation to the Agency in the manner and in accordance with the Technical Instruction for using the WEB form input service and electronic submission of documentation, and the Instruction for completing WEB forms for pension companies. (2) It is deemed that the pension company has submitted the documentation referred to in Articles 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of this Regulation in the manner prescribed by paragraph 1 of this Article at the moment when the documentation is recorded on the server for sending such documentation. FINAL PROVISIONS Article 12. This Regulation shall be published in the »Narodne novine« and shall enter into force on the eighth day following its publication in the »Narodne novine«. Class: 011-02/14-04/50 Reference No.: 326-440-14-1 Zagreb, 6 June