EBA updates list of Other Systemically Important Institutions (O-SIIs)

The European Banking Authority (EBA) updated today the 2019 list of Other Systemically Important Institutions (O-SIIs) in the EU. O-SIIs - those institutions which, along with Global Systemically Important Institutions (G-SIIs), are deemed systemically important - have been identified by the relevant authorities across the Union according to harmonised criteria provided by the EBA Guidelines. This list also reflects the additional capital buffers that the relevant authorities have set for the identified O-SIIs. The list of O-SIIs is available also in a user-friendly visualisation tool, including the information on O-SII buffers assigned to identified institutions across the EU.

The criteria to identify O-SIIs, as laid down in the EBA Guidelines, are based on  the size, importance, complexity (or cross-border activities) and interconnectedness of institutions.

The EBA Guidelines provide flexibility for relevant authorities to apply their supervisory judgment when deciding to include other institutions which might have not been automatically identified as O-SIIs. This approach allows for the assessment of all financial institutions across the EU in a comparable way, whilst still not excluding those firms that may be deemed systemically important for one jurisdiction on the basis of certain specificities. 

The list of O-SIIs is disclosed on an annual basis, along with any Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital buffer requirements, which may need to be set or reset. Higher capital requirements will become applicable once relevant authorities decide to set institution-specific buffer requirements as a consequence of this O-SII identification.

The EBA acts as the single point of disclosure for the list of O-SIIs across the EU, while each relevant authority discloses information for its respective jurisdiction, along with further details on the underlying rationale and identification process. This additional information is key for understanding the specific features of each O-SII and get some insight in terms of supervisory judgment, optional indicators used, buffer decisions and phase-in implementation dates.