Press releases

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a response to the letters received from a law firm on 23 June and 3 October 2022, regarding the case of the prudential classification as Tier 2 instruments of legacy perpetual bonds (so-called ‘Discos’) of an institution established in Norway (DNB Bank ASA).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Report on high earners for 2021. The analysis shows a significant increase of the number of individuals working for EU banks and investment firms who received a remuneration of more than EUR 1 million. This increase is linked to the overall good performance of institutions, in particular in the area of investment banking and trading and sales, continuing relocations of staff from the UK to the EU and a general increase in salaries.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its annual quantitative Report on minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) with data as of December 2021. The Report is complemented by an analysis looking into the impact of the MREL framework on a number of relevant dimensions. As of 31 December 2021, the EBA estimated that 70 banks reported an MREL shortfall of EUR 33bn out of a sample of 245. This is down by 42% compared to last years’ quantitative report on MREL on a comparable basis. The Report shows progress in closing MREL shortfalls, albeit at a lower rate for smaller banks, and concludes that the impact of MREL on banks’ profitability is manageable, although heterogeneous across types of banks and Member States.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its Report on liquidity measures, which monitors and evaluates the liquidity coverage requirements currently in place in the EU. The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) declined to 166% in June 2022. The fall was due to an increase in outflows driven by higher interest rates and volatility which led to a decline in asset prices during the first half of the year. The evolution of banks’ LCR levels is particularly relevant given the uncertain economic outlook with high levels of inflation and the process of normalisation of the monetary policy. EU banks hold materially lower liquidity buffers in foreign currencies, particularly the USD, which requires enhanced monitoring by banks and supervisors to avoid excessive vulnerability to disruptions in the foreign exchange markets.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its quarterly Risk Dashboard together with the results of the autumn edition of the Risk Assessment Questionnaire (RAQ).

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) published today a joint thematic Report on national financial education initiatives on digitalisation, with a focus on cybersecurity, scams, and fraud. The Report identifies good practices that national competent authorities and other public entities can follow when designing and implementing their financial education initiatives.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its peer review on authorisation of payment institutions and e-money institutions under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The review generally found increased transparency and consistency of the information required in the authorisation process. However, it also identified significant divergences in competent authorities’ assessment and the degree of scrutiny of applications. The review, therefore, sets out a series of measures to address such divergencies, to level out the supervisory playing field and to mitigate against ‘forum shopping’.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today updated the JSON files within the taxonomy package. The updates are limited to the JSON files and, therefore, only impact the XBRL-CSV reporting documents.  To identify columns, a data point identifier is being used instead of a data point version identifier.

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) published today the list of identified financial conglomerates for 2022. The 2022 list includes 63 financial conglomerates with the head of group located in the European Union or European Economic Area.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the identification of a group of connected clients (GCC) under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). These draft RTS, in conjunction with the EBA Guidelines on connected clients, provide the complete framework for the identification of two or more natural or legal persons who are so closely linked by idiosyncratic risk factors, that it is prudent to treat as a single risk.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) updated today the list of diversified indices, originally published in 2013 and previously updated in 2019. The list is part of the implementing technical standards (ITS) drafted to calculate the capital requirements for position risk in equities according to the standardised rules. The list has been updated according to the procedure and methodology laid down in the ITS and submitted to the European Commission for endorsement.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an updated list of capital instruments that Competent Authorities across the European Union (EU) and for the first time the European Economic Area (EEA) have classified as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1). Since the publication of the previous update in December 2021, the CET1 instruments compliant with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and issued by institutions from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have been added to the list. The list will be maintained and updated on a regular basis.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) specifying the requirements for the information that credit institutions selling NPL shall provide to prospective buyers. The objective of the draft ITS is to provide a common data standard for the NPL sales or transfers across the EU enabling cross-country comparison and thus reducing information asymmetries between the sellers and buyers of NPL, thus improving the functioning of NPL secondary markets.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its closure report of Covid-19 measures, which provides an overview of the wide range of policy measures taken on the back of the pandemic, their state of play and the path out of policy support.  Although the EU banking system proved overall resilient, the ample support provided does not give room to complacency, and the framework is to be further strengthened with a loyal and prompt implementation of Basel III. The publication is accompanied by an update to the list of Public Guarantee Schemes and general payment moratoria schemes issued in response to the pandemic. Finally, the EBA Guidelines on Covid-19 reporting and disclosure have been repealed in response to the decreasing relevance of the related public support measures, and the overall EBA proportionate approach to reporting.

​The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a thematic review on the transparency and level of fees and charges levied by financial institutions (FIs) on the retail banking products in the EU. Overall, the review finds that fees and charges vary greatly in terms of level and type not only across the European Union (EU) market, but also across FIs within the same jurisdiction. Furthermore, the variety of types for fees and charges cause different levels of detriment to consumers, and, with the exception of payment accounts, fees and charges are difficult to compare between providers.