Article 17 Professional secrecy

Any confidential information received, exchanged or transmitted pursuant to this Regulation shall be subject to the conditions of professional secrecy laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.

The obligation of professional secrecy shall apply to:

Confidential information received by the persons referred to in paragraph 2 in the course of their duties may not be divulged to any other person or authority, except in summary or aggregate form such that an individual market participant or market place cannot be identified, without prejudice to cases covered by criminal law, the other provisions of this Regulation or other relevant F5F6assimilated law.

Without prejudice to cases covered by criminal law, F8authorities, bodies or persons which receive confidential information pursuant to this Regulation may use it only in the performance of their duties and for the exercise of their functions. Other authorities, bodies or persons may use that information for the purpose for which it was provided to them or in the context of administrative or judicial proceedings specifically related to the exercise of those functions. The authority receiving the information may use it for other purposes, provided that the Agency, national regulatory authorities, competent financial authorities of the Member States, ESMA, bodies or persons communicating information consent thereto.

This Article shall not prevent an authority F9... from exchanging or transmitting, in accordance with national law, confidential information provided that it has not been received from an authority of F10a member State or from the Agency under this Regulation F11as it applies in EU law.