1. This Directive shall apply to all credit institutions.
2. It shall not apply to the institutions referred to in Article 2(2) of Directive 77/780/EEC.
3. A credit institution which, as defined in Article 2(4)(a) of Directive 77/780/EEC, is affiliated to a central body in the same Member State may be exempted from the provisions of Articles 4, 10 and 12 of this Directive provided that, without prejudice to the application of those provisions to the central body, the whole as constituted by the central body together with its affiliated institutions is subject to the abovementioned provisions on a consolidated basis.
In cases of exemption, Articles 6 and 18 to 21 sahll apply to the whole as constituted by the central body together with its affiliated institutions.