Article 2 Role of the compliance function
(Article 17(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
1. An investment firm shall ensure that its compliance staff has at least a general understanding of how the algorithmic trading systems and trading algorithms of the investment firm operate. The compliance staff shall be in continuous contact with persons within the firm who have detailed technical knowledge of the firm's algorithmic trading systems and algorithms.
2. An investment firm shall also ensure that compliance staff have, at all times, contact with the person or persons within the investment firm who have access to the functionality referred to in Article 12 (‘kill functionality’) or direct access to that kill functionality and to those who are responsible for each trading system or algorithm.
3. Where the compliance function or elements thereof are outsourced to a third party, an investment firm shall provide the third party with the same access to information as it would to its own compliance staff. An investment firm shall ensure that through such external compliance function:
(a) privacy of data is guaranteed;
(b) the compliance function can be audited by internal and external auditors or by the competent authority.