Resolution No. H-JÉ-III-B-21/2023 of the National Bank of Hungary on the closure of the audit procedure at AEGON Magyarország Befektetési Alapkezelő Zrt. (from 15.05.2023: VIG Befektetési Alapkezelő Magyarország Zrt.) with the application of measures and the imposition of a fine

16 May 2023

“Based on the findings of the ex-officio comprehensive investigation conducted at AEGON Magyarország Befektetési Alapkezelő Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (registered office: 1091 Budapest, Üllői út 1.; company registration number: 01-10-044261) (Fund Manager), the National Bank of Hungary (registered office: 1013 Budapest, Krisztina krt. 55., site office: 1122 Budapest, Krisztina krt. 6.) (MNB) has adopted the following

r e s o l u t i o n.

  1. The MNB orders that the Fund Manager shall, continuously in the course of its business activity, but certainly not later than in 90 days of receipt of the resolution
  2. ensure the application of a remuneration policy and remuneration practices that comply with the relevant legal provisions, including the legal provisions relevant to the deferred payment of variable remuneration;
  3. in order to enable the MNB to verify the adequacy of the net asset value calculation, ensure full comparability of its own asset value statements against those prepared by the custodian, furthermore, it shall ensure, in compliance with the latest effective legal provisions, that its supervisory reporting procedure is based on its general ledger, analytical and other records prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting rules;
  4. ensure full compliance with the legal provisions relevant to the calculation and reporting of the supervisory fee payable to the MNB;
  5. ensure that all its counterparties are included in its implementation policy.
  6. The MNB orders that the Fund Manager shall, continuously in the course of its business activity, but certainly not later than in 180 days of receipt of the resolution
  7. ensure full compliance with its own regulatory requirements applicable to information security, including the elimination of the use of real account numbers in test environments;
  8. ensure full compliance with the legal provisions applicable to the business continuity policy, including the definition of the maximum period of time permitted for data loss with respect to each relevant system, and provide for the comprehensive testing of the recovery from backup of the Online, DSR and Fileserver systems.

III. The MNB reminds the Fund Manager that, in the course of its business activity, it must continuously

  1. ensure that the investment decisions taken on behalf of the investment funds under its management are in full compliance with the investment limits specified in the relevant legislation and investment policy;
  2. ensure, in compliance with the latest effective legal provisions, that its supervisory reporting procedure is based on its general ledger, analytical and other records prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting rules;
  3. ensure that, in the event of the correction of an error in the calculation of the net asset value of the investment funds under its management, the recalculated net asset value per investment unit is published in the places specified in the management regulations;
  4. ensure the functional and hierarchical separation of the risk management function from other operational units;
  5. ensure full compliance with the legal provisions applicable to the calculation of exposure with respect to the investment funds under its management;
  6. comply with its obligation to report to the MNB on the types of derivative transactions of the investment funds under its management, the risks, the quantitative limits and the methods selected for estimating the risks associated with derivative transactions;
  7. comply with its obligation to review the liquidity policy on an annual basis.
  8. The MNB orders the Fund Manager to submit to the MNB, by way of extraordinary data reporting, the internal audit reports on the verification of compliance with the provisions of sections I-III – as discussed by the Board of Directors and approved by the Supervisory Board – and the underlying documents as well as the documents supporting compliance with the measures set out in sections I-III of the operative part of this Resolution
  9. in respect of the measures set out in sections I-II, within 30 days of the expiry of the deadline for performance set out therein;
  10. in respect of the measures set out in section III, within 120 days of the date of receipt of this Resolution.

 

  1. The MNB hereby orders the Fund Manager to pay

totalling HUF 4,700,000, i.e. four million seven hundred thousand forints, as supervisory fine.

The Fund Manager shall be obliged to publish the operative part of this Resolution on its website within 15 days of its communication.

The MNB draws the attention of the Fund Manager to the fact that if it fails to comply with the obligations set out in this Resolution, or fails to comply fully or in a timely manner, the MNB may take further measures as provided for by law, including the imposition of additional fines.

No procedural costs were incurred in the course of the audit procedure.

The fine imposed must be paid into the MNB’s account no. 19017004-01678000-30900002 – indicating “supervisory fine” and the number of the resolution – within thirty days of the date on which the resolution to impose it becomes final. In the event of failure to pay the fine voluntarily, the rules on administrative enforcement shall apply. If the deadline specified for the payment of the fine is not met, a late-payment penalty will be charged on the amount of the fine, the rate of which shall be equal to the three hundred and sixty-fifths part of two times the Central Bank’s base rate in force on the date of debiting, for each calendar day. The late-payment penalty shall be paid into the MNB’s account number referred to above, quoting the number of the resolution and indicating “late-payment penalty”. Any fine imposed by a final judgment and not paid, as well as the late-payment penalty charged for the failed or late payment of such fine will be collected by the State Tax Authority as taxes.

There is no right of appeal against this resolution; however, a person whose rights or legitimate interests are directly affected by the administrative act may, within 30 (thirty) days of notification, initiate an administrative lawsuit at the Metropolitan Tribunal, by filing a statement of claim, with reference to infringement of law.

The statement of claim must be addressed to the Metropolitan Tribunal and submitted to the MNB using the form submission support service. The Form Submission Support Service can be accessed via the following link: https://www.mnb.hu/felugyelet/engedelyezes-es-intezmenyfelugyeles/hatarozatok-es-vegzesek-keresese. Legal representation is compulsory in the lawsuit.

The submission of the statement of claim does not delay the coming into force of the Resolution; however, if the administrative act or the maintenance of the resulting situation violates the rights or legal interests of any party, the party concerned may ask for immediate legal protection to prevent a directly threatening disadvantage, to temporarily settle the legal relationship that has been made disputed, or to keep the situation that triggered the legal dispute unchanged.

As a general rule, the court will decide the case without hearing. The plaintiff may request a hearing in the statement of claim. No certificate may be issued for failure to request a hearing.

Budapest, 2 May 2023

Acting on behalf of the National Bank of Hungary,

Dr. Gábor Laki, signed in person,

Capital Markets and Market Supervision Directorate

director”