Press releases

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has defined its work programme for 2005, with the assistance of its Consultative Panel. CEBS plans to issue a number of public consultations during the coming year. Most of them will be related to the implementation of the proposed Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) which is expected to be adopted by the European Parliament later this year.

At its meeting in London on 18 January 2005, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) agreed to start a formal consultation with the banking industry, market participants and end-users to achieve a common framework for reporting of the solvency ratio by credit institutions. The consultation starts today and the consultation period will be three months.

CEBS has received a call for advice from the European Commission on the review of the large exposures rules in the EU which requests CEBS to undertake a survey of market practices in this respect. This survey is conducted via public questionnaire and responses are requested by 18 May 2006.

By the end of next year, any interested party will be able to access relevant information on the implementation and application of harmonised prudential banking rules for all EU Member States in a single location, a common format and a common language.

The European Commission is conducting a review of existing rules in all financial services Directives to determine their impact on cross-border consolidation in the EU banking sector. As part of that review, the Commission has asked the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) to evaluate the supervisory process for approving acquisitions of qualifying holdings in credit institutions.

ON APPLICATION OF THE SUPERVISORY REVIEW PROCESS CEBS has started a public consultation on additional technical guidance on application of the supervisory review process under the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD). The consultation period runs until 23 June 2006.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) is pleased to announce today’s publication of the second of its public consultations on prudential reporting requirements for credit institutions. This consultation focuses on the development of a standardised consolidated financial reporting framework for credit institutions. The first consultation (published January 2005) focussed on defining a common reporting framework for the solvency ratio under the future EU Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).

CEBS has updated the supervisory disclosure framework and its website demo in light of the final version of the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).

The banking supervisory authorities, the central banks and the Finance Ministries of the European Union (EU) have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in financial crisis situations (hereinafter referred to as the "MoU"). The full list of the authorities which have endorsed this MoU is included in the Annex to this press release. The MoU shall enter into effect on 1 July 2005. The MoU agreement will not be a public document.

The European banking industry is being confronted with increasing requirements regarding reporting processes, both in their relationships with clients to whom they extend credit and with supervisory authorities to whom they are accountable. New technical and regulatory developments are changing the way these reporting requirements are met. Introduction of digital reporting, based on open standards, allows for more frequent and more detailed reporting at lower costs and results in increased insight and transparency.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) was honoured to welcome today US Secretary of the Treasury John Snow to discuss the work of CEBS at its headquarters in London.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) was honoured to welcome today a delegation of Members of the European Parliament from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) to discuss the work of CEBS at its headquarters in London.

CEBS has started a second round of public consultation on the standards for outsourcing of credit institutions' business activities. The consultation runs until 6 July 2006.

CEBS is holding a public hearing on its proposals on the Supervisory Review Process on Wednesday 27 July 2005, starting at 2 pm. The hearing will be held at the CEBS' offices in London. The hearing is open to all market participants, end-users and other interested parties.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) is today presenting for public consultation its guidelines for a common approach to the recognition of External Credit Assessment Institutions (ECAIs) under the proposed Capital Requirements Directive (CRD). The consultation period is three months.