Article 21 — Criteria and factors to be taken into account by competent authorities for the purposes of product intervention powers (Article 42(2) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014)

— the type of the underlying or reference assets and the degree of transparency of the underlying or reference assets;

— the degree of transparency of costs and charges associated with the financial instrument, structured deposit, financial activity or financial practice, and, in particular, the lack of transparency resulting from multiple layers of costs and charges;

— the complexity of the performance calculation, taking into account whether the return is dependent on the performance of one or more underlying or reference assets which are in turn affected by other factors or whether the return depends not only on the values of the underlying or reference assets at the initial and maturity dates, but also on the values during the lifetime of the product;

— the nature and scale of any risks;

— whether the product or service is bundled with other products or services;

— the complexity of any terms and conditions;

— the notional value of the financial instrument or of an issuance of structured deposits;

— the number of clients, investors or market participants involved;

— the relative share of the product in investors' portfolios;

— the probability, scale and nature of any detriment, including the amount of loss potentially suffered;

— the anticipated duration of the detrimental consequences;

— the volume of the issuance;

— the number of intermediaries involved;

— the growth of the market or sales;

— the average amount invested by each client in the financial instrument or structured deposit; or

— the coverage level defined in Directive 2014/49/EU, in the case of structured deposits;

— whether the client is a retail client, a professional client or an eligible counterparty;

— clients' skills and abilities, including the level of education, experience with similar financial instruments or structured deposits or selling practices;

— clients' economic situation, including their income, and wealth;

— clients' core financial objectives, including pension saving and home ownership financing;

— whether the product or service is being sold to clients outside the intended target market or where the target market has not been adequately identified; or

— the eligibility for coverage by a deposit guarantee scheme, in the case of structured deposits;

— the type and transparency of the underlying;

— any hidden costs and charges;

— the use of techniques drawing clients' attention but not necessarily reflecting the suitability or overall quality of the product, the financial activity or the financial practice;

— the nature of risks and transparency of risks;

— the use of product names or terminology or other information that is misleading by implying a greater level of security or return than those which are actually possible or likely, or which imply product features that do not exist; or

— in case of structured deposits, whether the identity of deposit takers which might be responsible for the client's deposit, is disclosed;

— the leverage inherent in the product;

— the leverage due to financing;

— the features of securities financing transactions; or

— the fact that the value of any underlying is no longer available or reliable;

— the structuring costs of such financial instrument, structured deposit, financial activity or financial practice and other costs;

— the disparity in relation to the issuer's risk retained by the issuer; or

— the risk-return profile;

— the bid-ask spread;

— the frequency of trading availability;

— the issuance size and size of the secondary market;

— the presence or absence of liquidity providers or secondary market makers;

— the features of the trading system; or

— any other barriers to exit or the fact that early withdrawal is not allowed;

— the use of hidden or secondary charges; or

— charges that do not reflect the level of service provided;

— the degree of innovation related to the structure of the financial instrument, structured deposit, financial activity or financial practice, including embedding and triggering;

— the degree of innovation relating to the distribution model or length of the intermediation chain;

— the extent of innovation diffusion, including whether the financial instrument, structured deposit, financial activity or financial practice is innovative for particular categories of clients;

— innovation involving leverage;

— the lack of transparency of the underlying; or

— the past experience of the market with similar financial instruments, structured deposits or selling practices;

— the communication and distribution channels used;

— the information, marketing or other promotional material associated with the investment;

— the assumed investment purposes; or

— whether the decision to buy is secondary or tertiary decision following an earlier purchase;

— the financial situation of the issuer or any guarantor; or

— the transparency of the business situation of the issuer or guarantor;

— any fraud or dishonesty;

— misconduct in, or misuse of information, in relation to a financial market;

— handling the proceeds of crime;

— the financing of terrorism; or

— facilitating money laundering;

SECTION 2 — Position management powers