Article 395 | European Banking Authority

Description: Limits to large exposures
Main content: 1. An institution shall not incur an exposure, after taking into account the effect of the credit risk mitigation in accordance with Articles 399 to 403, to a client or group of connected clients the value of which exceeds 25 % of its eligible capital.
Where that client is an institution or where a group of connected clients includes one or more institutions, that value shall not exceed 25 % of the institution's eligible capital or EUR 150 million, whichever the higher, provided that the sum of exposure values, after taking into account the effect of the credit risk mitigation in accordance with Articles 399 to 403, to all connected clients that are not institutions does not exceed 25 % of the institution's eligible capital.

Where the amount of EUR 150 million is higher than 25 % of the institution's eligible capital the value of the exposure, after taking into account the effect of credit risk mitigation in accordance with Articles 399 to 403 shall not exceed a reasonable limit in terms of the institution's eligible capital. That limit shall be determined by the institution in accordance with the policies and procedures referred to in Article 81 of Directive 2013/36/EU, to address and control concentration risk. This limit shall not exceed 100 % of the institution's eligible capital.
Competent authorities may set a lower limit than EUR 150 million and shall inform EBA and the Commission thereof.
2. EBA shall, in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, taking into account the effect of the credit risk mitigation in accordance with Articles 399 to 403 as well as the outcomes of developments in the area of shadow banking and large exposures at the Union and international levels, issue guidelines by 31 December 2014 to set appropriate aggregate limits to such exposures or tighter individual limits on exposures to shadow banking entities which carry out banking activities outside a regulated framework.

In developing those guidelines, EBA shall consider whether the introduction of additional limits would have a material detrimental impact on the risk profile of institutions established in the Union, on the provision of credit to the real economy or on the stability and orderly functioning of financial markets.

By 31 December 2015 the Commission shall assess the appropriateness and the impact of imposing limits on exposures to shadow banking entities which carry out banking activities outside a regulated framework, taking into account Union and international developments in the area of shadow banking and large exposures as well as credit risk mitigation in accordance with Articles 399 to 403. The Commission shall submit the report to the European Parliament and the Council, together, if appropriate, with a legislative proposal on exposure limits to shadow banking entities which carry out banking activities outside a regulated framework.

3. Subject to Article 396, an institution shall at all times comply with the relevant limit laid down in paragraph 1.
4. Assets constituting claims and other exposures onto recognised third-country investment firms may be subject to the same treatment as set out in paragraph 1.
5. The limits laid down in this Article may be exceeded for the exposures on the institution's trading book if the following conditions are met:
(a) the exposure on the non-trading book to the client or group of connected clients in question does not exceed the limit laid down in paragraph 1, this limit being calculated with reference to eligible capital, so that the excess arises entirely on the trading book;
(b) the institution meets an additional own funds requirement on the excess in respect of the limit laid down in paragraph 1 which is calculated in accordance with Articles 397 and 398;
(c) where 10 days or less have elapsed since the excess occurred, the trading-book exposure to the client or group of connected clients in question shall not exceed 500 % of the institution's eligible capital;
(d) any excesses that have persisted for more than 10 days do not, in aggregate, exceed 600 % of the institution's eligible capital.
In each case in which the limit has been exceeded, the institution shall report the amount of the excess and the name of the client concerned and, where applicable, the name of the group of connected clients concerned, without delay to the competent authorities.
6. For the purpose of this paragraph, structural measures mean measures adopted by a Member State and implemented by the relevant competent authorities of that Member State before the entry into force of a legal act explicitly harmonising such measures, that require credit institutions authorised in that Member State to reduce their exposures to different legal entities depending on their activities, irrespective of where those activities are located, with a view to protecting depositors and preserving financial stability.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article and Article 400(1) (f), where Member States adopt national laws requiring structural measures to be taken within a banking group, competent authorities may require the institutions of the banking group which hold deposits that are covered by a Deposit Guarantee Scheme in accordance with Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on deposit-guarantee schemes (¹) or an equivalent deposit guarantee scheme in a third country to apply a large exposure limit below 25 % but not lower than 15 % between 28 June 2013 and 30 June 2015, and than 10 % from 1 July 2015 on a sub-consolidated basis in accordance with Article 11(5) to intragroup exposures where these exposures consist of exposures to an entity that does not belong to the same subgroup as regards the structural measures.
For the purpose of this paragraph, the following conditions shall be met:
(a) all entities belonging to a same subgroup as regards the structural measures are considered as one client or group of connected clients;
(b) the competent authorities apply a uniform limit to the exposures referred to in the first subparagraph.
Applying this approach shall be without prejudice to effective supervision on a consolidated basis and shall not entail disproportionate adverse effects on the whole or parts of the financial system in other Member States or in the Union as a whole or form or create an obstacle to the functioning of the internal market.

(¹) OJ L 135, 31.5.1994, p. 5.

7. Before adopting the specific structural measures as referred to in paragraph 6 relating to large exposures, the competent authorities shall notify the Council, the Commission, the competent authorities concerned and EBA at least two months prior to the publication of the decision to adopt the structural measures, and submit relevant quantitative or qualitative evidence of all of the following:
(a) the scope of the activities that are subject to the structural measures;
(b) an explanation as to why such draft measures are deemed to be suitable, effective and proportionate to protect depositors;
(c) an assessment of the likely positive or negative impact of the measures on the internal market based on information which is available to the Member State.
8. The power to adopt an implementing act to accept or reject the proposed national measures referred to in paragraph 7 is conferred on the Commission acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 464(2).
Within one month of receiving the notification referred to in paragraph 7, EBA shall provide its opinion on the points mentioned in that paragraph to the Council, the Commission and the Member State concerned. Competent authorities concerned may also provide their opinions on the points mentioned in that paragraph to the Council, the Commission and the Member State concerned.
Taking utmost account of the opinions referred to in the second subparagraph and if there is robust and strong evidence that the measures have a negative impact on the internal market that outweighs the financial stability benefits, the Commission shall, within two months of receiving the notification, reject the proposed national measures. Otherwise, the Commission shall accept the proposed national measures for an initial period of 2 years and where appropriate the measures may be subject to amendment.
The Commission shall only reject the proposed national measures if it considers the proposed national measures entail disproportionate adverse effects on the whole or parts of the financial system in other Member States or in the Union as a whole, thus forming or creating an obstacle to the functioning of the internal market or to the free movement of capital in accordance with the provisions of the TFEU.
The assessment of the Commission shall take account of the opinion of EBA and shall take into account the evidence presented in accordance with paragraph 7.
Before the expiry of the measures, the competent authorities may propose new measures for the extension of the period of application for an additional period of 2 years each time. In this case, they shall notify the Commission, the Council, the competent authorities concerned and EBA. Approval of the new measures shall be subject to the process set out in this Article. This Article shall be without prejudice to Article 458.