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Q&As refer to the provisions in force on the day of their publication. The EBA does not systematically review published Q&As following the amendment of legislative acts. Users of the Q&A tool should therefore check the date of publication of the Q&A and whether the provisions referred to in the answer remain the same.

Please note that the Q&As related to the supervisory benchmarking exercises have been moved to the dedicated handbook page. You can submit Q&As on this topic here.

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List of Q&A's

Exposure secured by immovable property vs. secured by mortgages on immovable property

CRR requires the treatment of exposures secured by mortgages on residential property under the Standardised Approach (Article 124, 125, 126).Also CRR requires the treatment of exposures secured by immovable property collateral (Article 154(3)), and exposures secured by residential / commercial property (Article 164(4)), both under the IRB approach.(Regardless of the residential/commercial distinction), does the different formulation:- “mortgage on immovable property” (Article 124),- “exposure secured by immovable property collateral” (Article 154(3)),- “exposures secured by [residential / commercial] property” Article 164(4))refer to different kind of exposures?Q&A 1214 suggests that the scope is the same for all the three articles above.If however they are not the same, what sort of exposures are part of each group (and not part of another)? 

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2376
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 06/01/2017

Application of Article 215(2)(b) of the CRR

Can the competent authorities be satisfied that the effects of a guarantee (which covers losses resulting from the non-payment of interest and other types of payments which the borrower is obliged to make) justify the treatment of eligible unfunded credit protection when the time of payment such guarantee is indeterminate? Are there other considerations that the competent authorities should take into account to be satisfied with the effects of the guarantee to justify such treatment, in addition to those listed in article 213 and 215(1)(b) and (c) of CRR?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2306
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 18/11/2016

Risk weighting under standardised approach of an exposure secured by mortgage on residential property being constructed by the borrower (self-build) during the period of construction

Where a residential property is being constructed, and the mortgage loan finances both the construction and subsequent occupation of the property, and also provided that the loan is at all times fully and completely secured by the property in its current condition, for risk weighting purposes it is subject to Article 125 (1) (a) as “residential property which is or shall be occupied or let by the owner”, further assuming it also complies with the conditions in paragraph 2 of the Article, would  the 35% risk weight apply under that Article during the construction period as well as during occupation of the completed property?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2304
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 03/02/2017

Appropriate risk weight for speculative immovable property financing

Does CRR Article 128 (1) provide that a 150% risk weight need not be applied to one or more exposures listed in CRR Article 128 (2) - including speculative immovable property financing - or that are identified in accordance with CRR Article 128 (3), on the basis that it would not be appropriate to apply that rate to such an exposure?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2268
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 21/10/2016

Classification of Churches and Religious Communities

Will the exposures of churches and religious communities that do not fall under Articles 115 (3), 127, and 128 be classified as Corporates (Article 122) or Retail (Article 123)? Additionally, can these be classified as SMEs?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2227
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 11/03/2016

Classification of a performance bonds according to annex 1.

Does a performance bonds which guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor with an original maturity of more than one year qualify as Medium/low risk according to CRR, annex I, item 3(a)(ii) ?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2198
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 03/06/2016

Capital requirements deduction for credit risk on exposures to SMEs

Is capital requirement deduction (SME factor) applicable for specialised lending exposures if conditions determined in Article 501(2) of Regulation No 575/2013 (CRR) are met?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2135
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 01/04/2016

Determination of the exposure at defaul in case of unfunded credit protection

Under the advanced approach, the IRB Approach, as permitted by the Title II - Chapter 3, does not specify the order of application of the Credit Conversion Factor (CCF) and of the credit protection when an off-balance sheet exposure is covered by an unfunded credit protection (e.g. a CDS, Credit Default Swap). Does CRR prevent from applying the credit protection on the Exposure At Default (i.e.: after application of the CCF for an off-balance sheet exposure)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2063
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 03/06/2016

Application of the top-down approach based on EL calibration (article 160 al.2) - purchased receivables

Do these methods apply for other non-retail purchased receivables (i.e. institutions and sovereigns) ? For example, can an institution PD’s be calibrated using these top down approach based on EL calibration ?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2023
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 27/11/2015

Credit risk - standardised approach

Can cash equivalents be assigned a Risk weight of 0%? What is the definition of an equivalent cash item?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_2001
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 13/11/2015

Change of minimum values of exposure weighted average LGD for exposures secured by property in their territory

Does Article 164(5) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR) allow competent authorities to set higher minimum values of exposure weighted average LGD for exposures in one or more parts of its territory on the basis of Financial stability considerations? (In the same way as it is possible under Article 124(2) CRR)

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1992
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:

Can third country insurance companies be considered as unregulated financial entities

If a third country insurance or re-insurance is considered as not subject to "prudential supervisory and regulation requirements at least equivalent to those applied in the union" (as stated in article 142 (4) ) should we definitely consider this entity as neither "large financial sector entity" neither "unregulated financial sector entity" as defined under article 142 (4) and (5) ? Indeed the definition of "unregulated financial sector entity" ("an entity that is not a regulated financial sector entity but that performs, as its main business, one or more of the activities listed in annex I to directive 2013/36/EU or in annex I to directive 2004/36/EC") does not cover insurance activities.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1991
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 10/02/2017

Third country equivalent large financial sector entities

If the Implementing Act of the EU has stated equivalent third countries for investment firms, exchange and credit institution there is no such a list for insurance and re-insurance companies.Nevertheless, if we understand that CRR contains no list of equivalent countries for insurance and re-insurance companies, or no recommendations on EBA to produce such a list, institutions need clear guidelines if they want to correctly apply article 142 (4) of CRR.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1989
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 10/02/2017

Exposure to third country institutions and investment firms

What is the treatment for credit risk purposes of an exposure to an investment firm which is established in that third country and which is subject to the supervisory and regulatory requirements applicable to credit institutions in that country?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1968
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 30/04/2015

Risk weight in CCP-related exposures, rules on 2% AND 4% risk weight

For the purposes of Article 305 (3) is there loss protection if the condition in 305 (2) b) is met but not 305 (2) c)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1946
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 18/03/2016

QRRE loss rate

What is meant by loss rate in this context?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1933
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 25/09/2015

Calculation of unsecured and secured parts of past due items – Standardised approach

Under the standardised approach, when calculating the unsecured part of the exposure for the purpose of computing provisions threshold (20%) under Article 127(1) of the CRR, shall the exposure exclude eligible financial collateral and credit protection that comply with the requirements stated in Part Three, Title II, Chapter 4 of the CRR, ‘Credit Risk Mitigations’, as well as residential real estate and commercial real estate as described in Article 127(3) & (4) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1918
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 01/04/2016

Eligibility of unconditional Financial Letters of Credit as eligible financial collateral

Can an unconditionally drawable Letter of Credit held by an institution as beneficiary be treated as a “cash assimilated instrument” eligible for inclusion by that institution as an item of Funded Credit Protection against an outstanding exposure position for a contingent future payment?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1917
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 06/01/2017

Eligibility of religious communities or churches

Are churches or religious communities eligible protection providers under all approaches and thus included in the list of providers of Article 201 with reference to paragraph 1(b)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1908
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as final Q&A: 11/12/2015

Treatment of an asset resulting from obligatory payments to Deposit Guarantee Scheme in Risk Weighted Assets calculation (Standardised Approach).

How should an asset resulting from prepayment of obligatory contribution to Deposit Guarantee Scheme be treated for the purpose of credit risk capital requirements calculation under the Standardised Approach?Should it be recognised as ‘Other assets’ (prepayments to unknown counterparty) or as an exposure to the Deposit Guarantee Scheme?Moreover, if the recognition as an exposure to the Deposit Guarantee Scheme is correct, is it possible to treat the Deposit Guarantee Scheme as a Public Sector Entity which can be treated under Article 116(4) CRR, and therefore assigned a 0% risk weight?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable
  • ID: 2015_1890
  • Topic: Credit risk
  • Date of submission:
  • Published as Rejected Q&A: 11/02/2022