Press releases

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the criteria to identify all categories of staff whose professional activities have a material impact on the institutions’ risk profile (“risk takers”). The aim of these standards is to define and harmonise the criteria for the identification of such staff and to ensure a consistent approach across the EU. The suggested identification process is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative criteria. The consultation runs until 19 February 2020.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an updated list of capital instruments that Competent Authorities (CAs) across the European Union (EU) have classified as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1). Since the publication of the previous update in July 2019, a new CET1 instrument has been assessed and evaluated as compliant with the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The list will be maintained and updated on a regular basis.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the Standardised Approach for Counterparty Credit Risk (SA-CCR). These draft RTS specify key aspects of the SA-CCR and represent an important contribution to its smooth harmonised implementation in the EU. The RTS are part of the mandates assigned to the EBA within its important role in implementing the SA-CCR and Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) frameworks in the EU.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Report on undue short-term pressures from the financial sector on corporations, which presents its analysis on the extent to which short-termism is present in the banking sector. This assessment responds to a call for advice from the European Commission as part of its Action Plan “Financing Sustainable Growth” and will inform on policy actions that could be taken to ensure that long-term perspectives are adequately considered in the financial sector.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the templates for the 2020 EU-wide stress test, after the feedback received by banks during the testing phase. The stress test exercise will be formally launched in January 2020.

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) published today Joint guidelines on cooperation and information exchange, establishing colleges of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervisors for the first time in the EU to ensure effective cooperation and information exchange between competent authorities. These measures are needed to strengthen the EU’s AML/CFT efforts.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a consultation to amend the Commission's Implementing Regulation on benchmarking of internal models to adjust the benchmarking portfolios and reporting requirements in view of the benchmarking exercise it will carry out in 2021. On the credit risk side, the amended standards will allow to complement the analysis of credit risk models through the introduction of IFRS 9 templates and the collection of risk weighted exposure value (RWA) calculated under the Standardised Approach (SA) and hypothetical RWA calculated with empirical default rates. On the market risk side, the framework remains stable, with the consultation restricted to clarifications on the setting of reference dates and instruments/portfolios definitions. The consultation runs until 13 February 2020.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued today a revised list of validation rules in its Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting, highlighting those, which have been deactivated either for incorrectness or for triggering IT problems. Competent Authorities throughout the EU are informed that data submitted in accordance with these ITS should not be formally validated against the set of deactivated rules.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) publishes today updated guidelines on harmonised definitions and templates for the reporting of funding plans. The changes include additional details of forecasted market based funding, alignment to FINREP reporting and additional proportionality for small and non-complex credit institutions. This update is the result of the experience gained through the EBA's assessment of banks' funding plans in the recent years.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Action plan on sustainable finance outlining its approach and timeline for delivering mandates related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The Action plan explains the EBA’s sequenced approach, starting with key metrics, strategies, risk management and moving towards scenario analysis and evidence for any adjustments to risk weights. The Action Plan also aims to communicate key messages on the EBA’s policy direction and the expectations from financial institutions on areas where action is needed now to support the move towards more sustainable finance in the EU.

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published today joint draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to amend the Delegated Regulation on the risk mitigation techniques for non-cleared OTC derivatives (bilateral margining) as well as a joint statement on the introduction of fallbacks in OTC derivative contracts and the requirement to exchange collateral. BothRTS and the statement were developed to facilitate further international consistency in the implementation of the global framework agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the second part of its advice on the implementation of Basel III in the EU, which complements the Report published on 5 August 2019. Today’s publication includes an assessment of the impact of the revisions to the credit valuation adjustment (CVA) and market risk frameworks, and the corresponding policy recommendations. It also provides a macroeconomic impact assessment of the full Basel III package. When accounting for the 2019 FRTB standards, the impact assessment shows that the full implementation of Basel III, under conservative assumptions, will increase the current minimum capital requirement (MRC) by 23.6% on average. This impact is lower than the 24.4% originally estimated in the August 2019 report, and would imply an aggregate shortfall in total capital of EUR 124.8 billion. The macroeconomic impact assessment shows that the implementation of Basel III will have net benefits for the economy of the European Union. The EBA reaffirms its support for a full implementation of the final Basel III standards in the EU.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a factsheet addressed to European consumers to raise awareness on key steps they should consider when choosing financial services through digital means. This document will help consumers make better and more informed choices.