Article 4 — Trading restrictions

1.In order to benefit from the exemption laid down in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, the issuer shall not, for the duration of the buy-back programme, engage in the following activities:

2.Paragraph 1 shall not apply where:

3.Point (a) of paragraph 1 shall not apply if the issuer is an investment firm or credit institution and has established, implemented and maintains adequate and effective internal arrangements and procedures, subject to the supervision of the competent authority, to prevent unlawful disclosure of inside information by persons having access to inside information concerning directly or indirectly the issuer to persons responsible for any decision relating to the trading of own shares, when trading in own shares on the basis of such decision.

4.Points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 shall not apply if the issuer is an investment firm or credit institution and has established, implemented and maintains adequate and effective internal arrangements and procedures, subject to the supervision of the competent authority, to prevent unlawful disclosure of inside information by persons having access to inside information concerning directly or indirectly the issuer, including acquisition decisions under the buy-back programme, to persons responsible for the trading of own shares on behalf of clients, when trading in own shares on behalf of those clients.