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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

Back-to-Back in regulatory threshold

How should back-to-back trades that net off perfectly when calculating the size of their on- and off-balance-sheet business that is subject to market risk be accounted for? Should both positions be considered in absolute value, both the short and the long position, or should they not be included as the positions perfectly offset each other and do not generate capital requirements for market risk?

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

Retention obligations

An alternative investment fund (“AIF”) managed by an alternative investment fund manager (“AIFM”) pursuant to Directive (EU) 61/2011, is set up to disburse loans to be subsequently securitised. According to Regulation (EU) 2402/2017 (hereinafter, the “Securitisation Regulation”), we believe that the AIFM and the AIF could fall within the definitions of, respectively, “originator” and “original lender”. According to Article 6(1) of the Securitisation Regulation the retention obligation can be fulfilled by either the originator, the original lender or the sponsor (if there is one) of a securitisation: in the above mentioned securitisation, can the retention obligation be therefore assumed alternatively by (i) the AIF as original lender, using the funds made available to it by investors or (ii) the AIFM as originator, using its own funds (i.e. not those of the AIF it manages)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 2017/2402 (SecReg)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Consideration of own funds requirements as a comparable guarantee to the PII

Would it be acceptable to consider, has a possible comparable guarantee, an increase of own funds’ requirements, in an amount corresponding to the minimum monetary amount calculated in accordance with the EBA’s tool, while ensuring that this amount would be fulfilled with highly liquid assets?

  • Legal act: Directive 2015/2366/EU (PSD2)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

SRT test in securitisations

When is necessary to make de SRT test in securitisations: at initial assessment only or ongoing monitoring?  

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

Exemption of exposures to public sector entities

In accordance with Article 429a (1) (j) (iii) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR), as modified by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/62, exposures to public sector entities (PSE), treated in accordance with Art. 116 (4) CRR and arising from deposits that the institution is legally obliged to transfer to this PSE for the purpose of funding general interest investment, shall be excluded from the denominator calculation of the institution´s leverage ratio.  Is there any limitation in the type of deposit assets to apply for such exclusion, particularly as regards cash-assimilated instruments (Article 4 (1)(60) CRR), which include certain categories of bonds? What is meant by “legal obligation” and what creates such obligation? Would contractual or statutory obligation qualify as such? Is there furthermore an example for “general interest investment”?  

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/62 - DR with regard to the leverage ratio

Approach to determining indirect ownership control powers under the legal definition of a beneficial owner.

What approach to determining the indirect ownership control power under the legal definition of a beneficial owner (“UBO”) as set out in Article 3(6)(a)(i) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing should be applied: (a) Determining the ‘share’ of indirect control of a UBO by multiplying the shares at each level of control and checking whether the result of this multiplication is more than 25% (multiplication test); (b) Examining the chain of control whenever a particular link in the ownership chain exceeds the 25% threshold which may, ultimately, lead to a natural person holding more than 25% of the shares or votes in a given indirect parent entity (rolling test); or (c) Verifying whether there is an entity or person who “controls” the entity having more than 25% of the shares or votes in an entity being evaluated, i.e. holds more than 50% of shares or votes in such entity (dominancy test)?

  • Legal act: Directive (EU) 2015/849 (AMLD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Information provided to the payee on individual payment transaction

If a framework contract includes a condition on providing all required information to the payee at least once a month, is the payment service provider still obliged to provide the information to the payee after the execution of individual payment transaction? Or providing monthly information is enough and provision of information separately about each individual transaction is not required anymore?

  • Legal act: Directive 2015/2366/EU (PSD2)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Determining MREL for entities of a group for which resolution plan provides that liquidation is credible and feasible

Where liquidation is credible and feasible either for the parent entity or for all of the entities of a group what is the legal basis for determining and reaching a joint decision on MREL?

  • Legal act: Directive 2014/59/EU (BRRD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1075 - DR on the content of recovery and resolution plans, financial support, independent valuers, contractual recognition of write down and conversion powers, notices of suspension and resolution colleges

Meaning of "established in the Union"

Article 18 of the Securitisation Regulation requires that “The originator, sponsor and SSPE involved in a securitisation considered STS shall be established in the Union”: Would this provision deemed to be fulfilled in the case of originators, sponsors and SSPEs established in an EEA country? Would it be deemed to be fulfilled in the case of an originator which is an EU branch of a subsidiary  established in an EEA State pertaining to a banking group established in the EU?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 2017/2402 (SecReg)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Treatment of multi-seller securitisations in CRR

It is not clear from the provisions of the CRR how to treat multi-seller securitisations.  Multi-seller securitisations are those securitisations where there is more than one originator. That is, the underlying pool of the transaction comes from more than one single entity and the originators retaining the securitisation positions are exposed to the risk of the joined portfolio and not only to the risk of the portfolio they have transferred to the SSPE.  In those cases: Should  each originator be considered as such and consider that the significant credit risk associated with its securitised exposures has been transferred to third parties in accordance with Article 244(1)(a), and therefore originators should treat their retained securitisation positions as a positions subject to the securitisation framework? Or should all the originators be considered as investors in the securitisation due to the fact that the proportion of the assets that each originator has transferred to the SSPE represents a minimum share of the overall portfolio in the SSPE?   Would that treatment also apply in those cases where the originators retain all the asset backed securities issued in the securitisation (liquidity purpose securitisation)?   Would the originators be considered as such for the purpose of the overall cap under Article 268?   Should any dominant entity contributing with a majority of assets in the pool be subject to the general SRT rules and the rest of originators be considered as investors? Which percentage should be considered to trigger such a dominant position?

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

Inclusion of expected loss for equity exposures in calculation of Expected loss amount reducing CET1

Are the expected loss amount for equity exposures calculated in accordance with Article 158(7), (8) or (9) CRR included in the impairment comparison according to Article 159 CRR or not? Shall the expected loss amount for equity exposures be deducted directly from Common Equity Tier 1 capital in row 380 of CA1 (in accordance with Article 36 (1)(d) CRR)? Even if as a consequence validation rule v4811_m would fail?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) No 680/2014 - ITS on supervisory reporting of institutions (repealed)

Scope of Prudential consolidation

Which is the applicability of Article 22 CRR for successive subsidiaries of a Significant Institution (SI) in the SSM and rest of EU, when the subsidiary in a third country as referred in Article 22 CRR is held by the subsidiary in the SSM or rest of the EU that is the last in the chain of the successive subsidiaries of the SI?

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

EMI's application of negative interest rates to its clients

Is an electronic money institution (EMI) allowed to apply negative interest rates to its clients (electronic money holders)?

  • Legal act: Directive 2009/110/EC (EMD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

EAD value for CVA calculation

Is the the EADiTotal in paragraph 1 gross of or net of incurred CVA. The definition provided by the regulation states that the effect of the collateral should be included but there is no reference as towards the incurred CVA regognised by the Bank as a write-down which under article 273 par.6 is applied in the calculation of the CCR RWA. "EAD total i = the total counterparty credit risk exposure value of counterparty ‘i’ (summed across its netting sets) including the effect of collateral in accordance with the methods set out in Sections 3 to 6 of Title II, Chapter 6 as applicable to the calculation of the own funds requirements for counterparty credit risk for that counterparty. An institution using one of the methods set out in Sections 3 and 4 of Title II, Chapter 6, may use as the fully adjusted exposure value in accordance with Article 223(5)."

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

Calculation of a Prudent Value in combination with CET1-Deduction according to article 89 and 90 CRR

In case of applying article 89 CRR in combination with article 90 CRR for a risk exposure (asset) is there a requirement of calculating an additional valuation adjustument (AVA) although the calculated amount of CET1-deduction of the risk exposure already lowers CET1?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) 2016/101 - RTS for prudent valuation under Article 105(14) CRR

Paper-based postal money orders as defined by the Universal Postal Union

1. Should postal transfers as defined by the Universal Postal Union, which are not made in paper form but by electronic means, be excluded from the scope of PSD2?     2. If postal transfers, as defined by the Universal Postal Union, in both electronic and paper format, are inseparable from the postal operator’s accounting system, should also paper-based postal transfers not fall outside the scope of PSD2?     3. Should such transfers be excluded from the scope of PSD2 in either case, or agree that the payment institution is not entitled to credit those funds to the payment service customers’ funds accounts where the money of the payment service users is kept separate?     4. Can a payment institution that is also a postal service provider simultaneously provide both PSD2 regulated services and services related to payments but outside the scope of PSD2?

  • Legal act: Directive 2015/2366/EU (PSD2)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Exposure class for fair value changes of the hedged items in portfolio hedge of interest rate risk

To which exposure class the 'fair value changes of the hedged items in portfolio hedge of interest rate risk' (recorded in the IFRS consolidated financial statements in accordance with (IAS 39.89A(a); IFRS 9.6.5.8) have to be assigned?

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

Calculation of the CET1 deduction for non-performing exposures (NPEs)

Which date shall be used to determine the applicable factor that is used to calculate the amount determined in Article 47c(1)(a) CRR when the terms and conditions of a non-performing exposure, which was originated prior to 26 April 2019, have been modified by the institution in a way that increased the institution's exposure to the obligor and  the counterparty defaulted before the initial origination of the exposure? The date on which the counterparty initially defaulted or the date on which the exposure was initially originated or the date on which the terms and conditions of the NPE have been modified by the institution in a way that increased the institution's exposure to the obligor?     Additionally, which date is supposed to be considered if the default of the exposure/counterparty occurs after the initial date of origination of the exposure and before an increase in amount of exposure? The date of default or the modification date?

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

Definition of electronic money

Does the wording “accepted by a natural or legal person other than the electronic money issuer” in the definition of electronic money (article 2.2) imply that a third party (payee) must become the holder of the electronic money as such and thus that there must be a direct contractual arrangement between the e-money issuer and all payees (obligating the payees to accept the issued e-money as a means of payment and granting the payees a right of redemption of the e-money)?  or should the criterion that a third party must “accept the electronically stored monetary value” be considered to be met where a third party payee accepts our customer’s payment with a card that is backed by the customer’s e-money (as per the description above), regardless of the fact that the payee will not become a holder of the issued e-money as such?

  • Legal act: Directive 2009/110/EC (EMD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable