EBA identifies key supervisory areas as part of the European Supervisory Examination Programme for 2025

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published the European Supervisory Examination Programme (ESEP) for 2025, which identifies key topics for heightened supervisory attention across the European Union. The ESEP is aimed at driving supervisory convergence by providing competent authorities with a single set of priorities for implementation in 2025.

In selecting the key topics for the 2025 ESEP, the EBA has followed a process of engagement and consultation with the EU competent authorities, while input from its risk analysis work and key policy developments has been fundamental. The topics identified as key for 2025 include:

• testing and adjusting to increasing economic and financial uncertainties, informed by a series of intertwined dynamics that intensify volatility in global markets and drive structural changes in the geopolitical landscape, impacting risks attached to financial activities;
• digital challenges, in particular ICT risk management and building operational resilience towards the digital transformation, informed by the general increase of ICT/cyber risk, the upcoming implementation of the DORA framework for all EU financial entities, and the persisting challenges in the design and execution of banks’ digital transformation strategies; and
• transitioning towards Basel III and the EU banking package implementation by ensuring institutions’ information systems and capital planning are able to support the revised prudential metrics and corresponding robustness.

Competent authorities are expected to reflect these topics in their priority setting and implement them in their day-to-day supervisory activities to ensure that the concerted efforts of supervisors lead to the appropriate identification, assessment and management of the relevant risks across the European Union.

The EBA will follow up on how these key topics are embedded in competent authorities’ priorities for 2025, and how they form part of their supervisory activities throughout the year. The observations collected will feed into the overall conclusions on the degree of convergence of supervisory practices.

Note to the editors

The ESEP is one of the key elements of the EBA`s supervisory convergence toolkit which aims at delivering the EBA`s supervisory convergence mandate as required by the EBA`s founding regulation and by Article 107 of the CRD specifically in the context of the supervisory review.

The 2025 ESEP complements competent authorities` core prudential supervisory activities and does not aim to provide an overarching and comprehensive supervisory examination programme, as that should be developed by competent authorities taking into account the ESEP, the structure and specific vulnerabilities of the banking system under their remit and the idiosyncratic dimensions of the individual bank or banking group they supervise, including cross-border considerations, where relevant.