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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.

List of Q&A's

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

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

Credit Risk – treatment of Russian credit institutions

1. Please advise whether Russian Credit Institutions are to be treated as an "Institution" or ‘Corporate client’, considering Article 107, paragraph 3 definition:"For the purposes of this Regulation, exposures to third- country investment firms and exposures to third country credit institutions and exposures to third country clearing houses and exchanges shall be treated as exposures to an institution only if the third country applies prudential and supervisory requirements to that entity that are at least equivalent to those applied in the Union."2. Does definition of an "Institution" in Article 107(3) definition only refer to the capital requirement for credit risk?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Equivalence of third country supervisory and regulatory arrangements to those applied in the Union

Who decides which third countries apply supervisory and regulatory arrangements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union? Unlike other articles in CRR (such as e.g. Article 114(7)), Article 212 does not explicitly empower the Commission to adopt, by way of implementing acts, and subject to the examination procedure referred to in Article 464.2, a decision as to whether a third country applies supervisory and regulatory arrangements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Equivalence of third country supervisory and regulatory arrangements to those applied in the Union

Who decides (after the transitional period, if applicable) which third countries apply supervisory and regulatory arrangements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union in case the Commission does not make use of its power to adopt, by way of implementing acts, and subject to the examination procedure referred to in Article 464(2), a decision as to whether a third country applies supervisory and regulatory arrangements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union?The same question occurs with regard to Articles 107(4), 115(4), 116(5), 132(3) and 142(2) CRR.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

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

Recognition of unfunded credit protection / guarantees under Advanced IRB

Does an institution which has been granted permission to use the IRB Approach, including to use own estimates of LGD and conversion factors have the option to use the credit risk mitigation techniques of Chapter 4 (general CRM rules) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR), or must it make adjustments using its own estimates?Do the requirements for recognition of CRM under Chapter 4 apply to AIRB firms, or are these superseded by the Chapter 3, Section 6 requirements for IRB firms, including Article 183 CRR regarding recognition of unfunded credit protection for AIRB firms?For the purposes of Art 161(3) CRR, how does one determine the relevant risk weight of "a comparable, direct exposure to the guarantor"? Art 161(4) CRR gives guidance, but this is specifically with regard to the application of Art 153(3) CRR, i.e.: the "double default" approach. Is Art 161(4) CRR also relevant for Art 161(3) CRR?Is the "double default" approach detailed in Art 153(3) CRR and in Chapter 4 (Articles 202 and 217 CRR) also available for AIRB firms?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Meaning of "credit lines" in the context of conversion factors for certain off-balance sheet items

Which types of off-balance sheet exposures are referred to by the term “other credit lines” in Article 166(8)(d) CRR? Specific clarification is requested (i) for long-term letters of credit arising from the movement of goods, as only such short-term letters are mentioned in Article 166 (8)(b) CRR, and (ii) for guarantees.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Risk weighting under the Standardised Approach for credit risk for an exposure secured by a mortgage on a residential property which is a second home (for instance, a holiday home).

Can a second home be a residential property under Article 4(75) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR) and thus a respective mortgage benefit from the 35% risk weight under article 125(1)(a)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

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

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

Correct application of credit conversion factors in relation to credit substitutes and shipping guarantees

According to Annex I Classification of off-balance sheet items:a) Paragraph 1. (a) guarantees having the character of credit substitutes are guarantees for the good payment of credit facilities. These guarantees bear full risk, therefore CCF of 100% is applied as stated in Article 111. Could you provide more examples or a definition of credit substitutes?b) Paragraph 2. (b). (i) shipping guarantees: could guarantees for payment of delivered goods and services be considered shipping guarantees?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Treatment of retail exposures secured by property under IRB

How should institutions treat a retail exposure for an SME that has a minor property collateral (and thus it is partly secured by immovable property) but the purpose of this loan is not property/mortgage finance? Are the correlation coefficient prescribed in Article 154(3) and the minimum LGD requirement in Article 164(4) applicable for the full exposure?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Assigning Specific Credit Risk Adjustments for a group of exposures to the exposures within the group

Following question 2013_499, could you confirm that this implies that the collective provisions allocated to specific portfolios for accounting purposes (FINREP) will agree at aggregate level with the amounts booked in the financial statements but the allocation for RWA to single exposures will differ from the allocation for accounting purposes to single exposures and thus a single exposure will show a different collective provision for accounting purposes (FINREP) than that for RWA?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) No 183/2014 - RTS for the calculation of specific and general credit risk adjustments

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

Applying a currency mismatch haircut to OTC derivatives in a netting pool which are in a currency different from settlement currency

For OTC derivative transactions covered by master netting agreements, if the exposure (derivative) currency is different from the settlement currency, should the exposure amount be increased by the currency mismatch haircut?While calculating the replacement cost of the derivatives, should the exposure amount be increased by the currency mismatch haircut?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Classifications of loans to SPVs as to SME

How should the repayment of loans to SPV's (classified as SME) be considered for the purpose of Article 501 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)? Should the original exposure amount be taken into account? 

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

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

Retail exposures above EUR 1m - definition and understanding

Would a private individual client need to be regarded as "non retail" if the original exposure is above EUR 1 million (line EUR 2m) or could he stay in the "Retail" exposures class if his EAD is below EUR 1million (EAD close to zero) or the drawn amount is below euro 1m (drawn amount below EUR1m)?Clarity would be appreciated for both the standardised and IRB approach.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Treatment of decreases of impairments in the calculation of the exposure value

In the context of published Q&A 2014_1087 how should a credit institution treat decreases of impairments, value adjustments or provisions (in case of reduced identified losses) recognised during the year, i.e. in the interim period, in the case where the competent authority has not given its permission to include the interim profit into the calculation of Common Equity Tier 1 capital, and the credit institution has not reflected the amounts with a corresponding "immediate reduction in Common Equity Tier 1 capital" although the changes in impairments, value adjustments or provisions for off-balance sheet items are reflected in interim profits or year-end profits?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) No 183/2014 - RTS for the calculation of specific and general credit risk adjustments