Press releases

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a follow up report on the actions taken following the publication of its Opinion on the use of allowances, in October 2014, where Competent Authorities were asked to use all necessary supervisory measures to ensure that by 31 December 2014 those institutions using the so called ‘role-based allowances’ adjust their remuneration policies in line with the criteria set out in the Opinion. The follow-up report concluded that Competent Authorities have taken measures in this respect and, where necessary, asked institutions to implement the necessary changes. However, such measures will, in most cases, only be effective for the remuneration awarded for the performance year 2015, while only in few cases were changes to institutions’ remuneration policies and practices already made for the performance year 2014.

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – has launched its Joint Consultation Paper on PRIIPs Key Information Documents to gather stakeholder views on proposed rules on the content and presentation of the Key Information Documents (KID).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on the procedures, forms and templates that competent authorities in the EU should use when consulting each other on qualifying holdings. The objective of these ITS is to streamline information exchanges and ensure effective communications between concerned authorities, both on a cross-border basis and across sectors. This public consultation runs until 10 February 2016.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its draft Guidelines on stress tests of Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGSs). The proposed Guidelines will provide the methodological principles to assess whether the operational and funding capabilities of DGSs are sufficient to ensure deposit protection in the event of a bank failure. In line with the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD), these Guidelines will promote the quality and the consistency of these stress tests. The resulting data will also facilitate future peer reviews by the EBA, contributing to a safe and sound EU framework for the benefit of depositors and financial stability. The consultation runs until 8 February 2016.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its 2016 EU-wide stress test draft methodology for discussion. The stress test will be formally launched in the first quarter of 2016 and will cover over 70% of the EU banking sector and will assess EU banks’ ability to meet relevant supervisory capital ratios during an adverse economic shock. The results will inform the 2016 Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP), acting as a challenge to banks’ forward looking capital plans. The exercise will also provide market participants with a consistent basis to compare and assess the resilience of EU banks. The list of institutions participating in the exercise is also released today.

The EBA published today the final set of templates and instructions that institutions participating in the Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) on the definition of default should complete and submit to their respective Competent Authorities (CAs) by 10 December 2015 at the latest.

In its risk dashboard for the EU banking sector published today, the European Banking Authority (EBA) gives an overview of the health of EU banks for the second quarter of 2015. While capital ratios have increased, the quality of loan portfolios remains weak, but EU banks profitability has increased compared to 2014. The EBA risk dashboard summarises the main risks and vulnerabilities in the banking sector on the basis of the evolution of a set of key risk indicators across the EU.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on draft Guidelines on how confidential information collected under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) should be disclosed in summary or collective form without identifying individual institutions or relevant entities. The aim of the Guidelines is to promote symmetric information and convergence of supervisory and resolution practices regarding the disclosure of confidential information. The consultation runs until 27 January 2016.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its eighth report of the Basel III monitoring exercise on the European banking system. This exercise, run in parallel with the one conducted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) at a global level, allows the gathering of aggregate results on capital ratios and leverage ratio (LR), as well as on liquidity ratios - liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and net stable funding ratio (NSFR) - for banks in the European Union (EU).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with supervisory authorities in six South-Eastern European (SEE) countries, establishing a framework for cooperation and information exchange.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an updated list of capital instruments that Competent Supervisory Authorities (CAs) across the European Union (EU) have classified as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1). Since the publication of the first update of the list in December 2014, some new CET1 instruments have been assessed and evaluated as compliant with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). This list is compiled in accordance with Article 26 of the CRR and is updated on a regular basis.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation on its draft Guidelines on the communication between competent authorities supervising credit institutions and statutory auditors of those institutions. Effective communication between competent authorities and auditors should contribute to fostering financial stability, safety and soundness of the banking system. The consultation runs until 21 January 2016.

The Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) launched today a public consultation on two anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) Guidelines. These Guidelines promote a common understanding of the risk-based approach to AML/CFT and set out how it should be applied by credit and financial institutions and competent authorities across the EU. The documents are part of the Joint Committee’s work to establish consistent and effective, risk-based supervisory practices across the EU.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) jointly with the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) hosted a workshop at the EBA premises to discuss opportunities and challenges of using the cloud in the banking sector. This workshop, which brings together supervisory authorities, CISOs from banks, IT and banking industry organisations and large cloud service providers will provide a forum for discussing the current status and potential ways to address supervisory or bank concerns and risks regarding the use of cloud services.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its detailed annual work programme for 2016, describing the specific activities and tasks of the Authority for the coming year, as well as a multiannual work programme, highlighting the key strategic areas of work in the coming years (from 2016 to 2018).