Topic Compliance Compliance
Article from BaFin's 2017 annual report
Code of conduct for the members of the Executive Board
Definition:Central Compliance responsibilities
The Central Compliance Office (ZC) brings together the officer functions for data protection, occupational safety, the prevention of corruption, employee transactions, sponsoring, business continuity management (BCM) and for crisis and disaster management. It takes preventive measures with the aim of ensuring that all BaFin units comply with the statutory requirements. The office performs compliance functions for the Executive Board and provides advice to BaFin's employees. The office's responsibilities also include the implementation of the requirements relating to secondary activities and rewards and gifts, as well as occupational health and safety.
A new code of conduct, agreed with the Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesfinanzministerium) in 2017 and published online, brings together the conduct of business rules applying to BaFin's Executive Board. These conduct of business rules are derived from the German Act Establishing the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Gesetz über die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht), the German Federal Civil Service Act (Bundesbeamtengesetz), the contractual provisions and BaFin’s internal guidelines, among other sources.
The code of conduct contains rules on the acceptance of gifts, on lecturing activities and honorary positions and in particular on private securities transactions. For example, the code of conduct provides that the President and the Chief Executive Directors may not carry out transactions in securities of companies within the financial sector. This is audited by an external auditor to ensure that it is subject to independent control.
Since 1 January 2018, a compliance officer within the Central Compliance Office (ZC; see info box “Central Compliance responsibilities”) has advised the members of the Executive Board on the rules of good conduct laid down in the code of conduct and has received their notifications under the code of conduct.
Ethics Framework
Central Compliance coordinates compliance with the Ethics Framework for the Single Supervisory Mechanism issued in 2015. The framework is addressed to the national competent authorities (NCAs), and therefore to BaFin among others, and the national central banks (NCBs) of the member states participating in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). It lays down uniform minimum standards relating to the compliance activities and corporate governance of the NCAs and NCBs.
In addition, BaFin has installed electronic reporting systems enabling employees to comply with their obligations relating to notifications and requests for permission for the acceptance of rewards and gifts, as well as the legal requirements governing secondary activities.
