1. Member States may choose not to apply this Directive to any persons for which they are the home Member State, provided that the activities of those persons are authorised and regulated at national level and those persons:

(a) are not allowed to hold client funds or client securities and which for that reason are not allowed at any time to place themselves in debit with their clients;

(b) are not allowed to provide any investment service except the reception and transmission of orders in transferable securities and units in collective investment undertakings and/or the provision of investment advice in relation to such financial instruments; and

(c) in the course of providing that service, are allowed to transmit orders only to:

(i) investment firms authorised in accordance with this Directive;

(ii) credit institutions authorised in accordance with Directive 2013/36/EU;