The EBA publishes its final Guidelines on national lists or registers of credit servicers

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its final Guidelines on national lists or registers of credit servicers. The Guidelines are addressed to Competent Authorities managing the lists or registers and specify i) the content of the lists or registers, ii) how they should be made accessible, and iii) the deadlines for updating them. Furthermore, the lists or registers should facilitate borrowers’ access to information on complaint handling procedures offered by competent authorities.

The Guidelines require basic information about credit servicers, such as their name and address and home Member State, as well as other useful information, such as whether the credit servicer is currently authorised to conduct services or to receive and hold funds from borrowers.

In addition, the Guidelines specify that the lists or registers should be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on the website of the competent authority or another electronic tool; that they should not require the user’s prior registration as a precondition for access; and and that they should be free of charge. The Guidelines also set the deadlines by which Competent Authorities have to update the lists or registers, i.e. one week for regular updates and two working days for critical updates on the withdrawal of authorisation or the banning to receive and hold funds from borrowers.

Following the feedback received during the public consultation from July to October 2023, the EBA further clarified various provisions in the Guidelines and decided to introduce minor additional requirements, namely for the lists or registers to be downloadable and available in English.

Legal basis

Article 9 (1) subparagraph 1 of Directive 2021/2167 on credit servicers and credit purchasers (Credit Servicers Directive – CSD, previously also referred to as the ‘NPL Directive’ or ‘Loan Servicers Directive’)  requires that Member States “ensure that the competent authorities (CA) establish and maintain at least a list or, where considered more appropriate, a national register, of all credit servicers authorised to provide services within their territory, including credit servicers providing services under Article 13 of this Directive.".
In support of this requirement, the same Article mandates the EBA to “develop guidelines in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 for establishing and maintaining such lists or registers and specifying the types of information included in them in order to guarantee a level playing field across the Union and transparency for credit purchasers and for borrowers.”