HIVE project: digitalisation of the fit and proper process

NBB_2021_004 – 19 Januay 2021 Communication – P. 1/3 Boulevard de Berlaimont 14 – BE-1000 Brussels Phone +32 2 221 54 65 Company number: 0203.201.340 RPM (Trade Register) Brussels www.nbb.be Communication Brussels, 19 January 2021 Reference: NBB_2021_004 Contact person: Catherine Terrier Phone +32 2 221 45 32 catherine.terrier@nbb.be HIVE project: digitalisation of the fit and proper process Scope

• credit institutions, stockbroking firms, payment institutions and electronic money institutions governed by Belgian law, and foreign branches of these institutions,
• Belgian branches of credit institutions, stockbroking firms, payment institutions and electronic money institutions governed by the law of a State that is not a member of the European Economic Area,
• central securities depositories, institutions supporting central securities depositories and custodian banks governed by Belgian law, and foreign branches of these institutions,
• Belgian branches of institutions supporting central securities depositories and of custodian banks governed by the law of a State that is not a member of the European Economic Area,
• (re)insurance companies governed by Belgian law and their foreign branches,
• Belgian branches of insurance companies governed by the law of a State that is not a member of the European Economic Area,
• (mixed) financial holding companies and insurance holding companies. Summary/Objectives  inform the institutions of the digitalisation process implemented by the National Bank of Belgium and the European Central Bank for the submission of fit and proper forms regarding persons subject to a fit and proper assessment;  more generally explain the changes made to the Bank’s portal site for accessing the various notification forms and platforms for information exchange between the Bank and the institutions under its supervision. The updates to the tools will gradually lead to the implementation of a single portal for all financial institutions.

Communication – P. 2/3 NBB_2021_004 – 19 January 2021 Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Both the National Bank of Belgium (hereinafter “the Bank”) and the European Central Bank (hereinafter “the ECB”) have decided to digitise the process for submitting the standard forms regarding persons subject to a fit and proper assessment. This Communication is intended to inform financial institutions of this digitalisation process, which is part of the HIVE project.

1. The HIVE project This project aims to update the IT tools of financial supervision and to extend digitalisation to all processes of prudential supervision. The relevant financial institutions and, where appropriate, their auditors will be given access to a single, user-friendly and more flexible supervision portal to respond to the constantly changing reporting requirements, as well as to a secure information exchange platform. The data collection tools OneGate, eCorporate and eManex will gradually be updated, integrated or even replaced following these changes.
2. Digitalisation of the fit and proper process for the institutions under the direct supervision of the Bank As of 1 March 2021, all new applications related to fit and proper (F&P) should be submitted to the Bank through OneGate, which is accessible at the following URL: https://onegate-certificate.nbb.be/. Below you will find some important preliminary information regarding access to OneGate. For more details and for information on the use of OneGate in the context of F&P, please refer to the document “Your Fit￾and-Proper requests on OneGate - user guide” on the OneGate website. For further information on OneGate in general, please visit the application’s website and consult the quick start guide: https://www.nbb.be/doc/dq/onegate/en/documentation_en.html. To access the F&P documents, it is necessary to log in to OneGate using an electronic certificate. The application accepts certificates issued by ISABEL, Globalsign and Quo Vadis. If you already have valid access to OneGate (through a certificate), it is sufficient to send an e-mail to access.onegate@nbb.be to request that the “F&P domain” be added to your access, specifying the VAT number of the company concerned and your user (NUIN) number. You can then create and/or consult F&P documents. To obtain new access to Onegate, please also use the URL https://onegate-certificate.nbb.be/ and attempt to log in by selecting your certificate (make sure it is properly installed on your computer). You will then be required to fill in and validate an online registration form. This will be processed as soon as possible by the Bank (usually within a few working hours). You will automatically receive an e-mail indicating whether your access request has been accepted or rejected. If it is accepted, you will be able to log in to OneGate normally. Please note that any person with access to the F&P domain for your company in OneGate will be able to consult all F&P documents available there, regardless of the candidates concerned by these documents. If you encounter a technical problem preventing you from accessing OneGate (browser or security problems, etc.), please contact the Bank’s Helpdesk by phone at (+32) (0)2 221 40 60. If you are able to access OneGate but encounter a problem related to your access (e.g. you cannot access your company/companies or the documents required in the application), please send an e-mail to access.oneGate@nbb.be.

NBB_2021_004 – 19 January 2021 Communication – P. 3/3 3. Digitalisation of the fit and proper process for the institutions under the direct supervision of the ECB As indicated above, the ECB has also initiated the digitalisation of the F&P process. On 15 December 2020, the ECB addressed a letter explaining this digitalisation process to the top entities of the institutions under its direct supervision. From 27 January 2021, Belgian institutions under ECB supervision should submit the form “new appointment” through the ECB’s IMAS portal, which is accessible through the F&P page on the Bank’s website. For further technical questions regarding the IMAS portal, please contact the ECB. Please note that the ECB’s IMAS portal is currently only available for submitting the form “new appointment”. For the other forms (i.e. “exit”, “new elements” and “reappointment”), institutions under ECB supervision should also use the Bank’s fit and proper portal, in accordance with point 2 of this Communication. 4. Changes to policy documents Firstly, the F&P page on the Bank’s website will be modified as follows:  the paper versions of the F&P forms will disappear. Upon the entry into force of this Communication, institutions should submit the forms exclusively digitally through the portals of the Bank or the ECB. Consequently, paper submissions will no longer be accepted;  a link will be provided to the digital portals of the ECB and the Bank. In a second stage – with the next update of the Bank’s fit and proper manual – chapter 5 (NBB standard forms) will be adapted to the information provided in this Communication. A copy of this Communication will be sent to your institution's accredited statutory auditor(s). Yours faithfully, Pierre WUNSCH Governor