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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

Multilateral development banks classification for the purpose of article 325ah

Buckets 2 and 11 of Table 4 in Article 325ah refer to the category of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and international organisations (IORGs) referred to in Article 117(2) or Article 118 of CRR. At the same time, paragraph 2 of the same article 325ah, requires the use of a classification that is commonly used in the market for grouping issuers by sector, in order to assign a risk exposure to a sector.  Assuming that such a market wide accepted classification would show a certain counterparty as an MDB, as long as this specific counterparty is not listed in the above listed articles mentioned for buckets 2 and 11 of Table 4 in Article 325ah (as a one to one match) , then this counterparty would need to be assigned to a different bucket, likely 4 or 13.  Can there be a departure from the specific list of MDBs and IORGs, as referred to in Article 117(2) or Article 118 of CRR, for the purpose of Table 4 in Article 325ah of CRR? 

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

Financial Conglomerates: Mismatch between ITS and DPM 3.5 – ID v22748_u - T1 L 06.00, column c0020.

We are seeking clarification about a possible mismatch between ITS and DPM 3.5 (ID v22748_u - T1 L 06.00, column c0020) as part of the compilation of the template FC.06 Template - “Risk Concentration - Exposure by counterparties" within the FiCod. supervisory reporting. The Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2454 of 14 December 2022 states that, within the Template FC.06 - “Risk Concentration - Exposure by counterparties", the exposures must be reported for each individual legal entity belonging to the financial conglomerate, whereas the DPM 3.5 only permit reporting a unique value of the identification code of the external counterparty. This also determines the impossibility of representing separately the exposures held towards the same external counterparty but denominated in different currencies. We therefore ask what is the correct way to represent - inside the FC.06 Template- the cases in which multiple entities belonging to the conglomerate have exposures towards the same external counterparty and for the cases in which, for each external counterparty, there are exposures denominated in different currencies.

  • Legal act: Directive 2002/87/EC (FiCoD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) 2022/2454 – ITS on the reporting of intra-group transactions and risk concentration for financial conglomerates

Clarification of reporting of lending or financing where the use of proceeds is unknown in row 440 from Template 7 (ESG Disclosure)

Should all the instruments or lending against Sovereigns, where the use of proceeds is unknown, be excluded from the numerator of Template 7 ESG Disclosure - row 460 - Sovereigns and moved to row 440 - Other assets (e.g. Goodwill, commodities etc.)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) 2022/2453 - ITS on ESG disclosures

emission allowances

Sentence 2 of paragraph 3 of Annex II CRR refers to point (11) of Section C of Annex I MiFID, i.e. to emission allowances. Does that mean that spot market emission allowances are to be treated as derivative contracts listed in Annex II, even though they are not derivative in character?

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

Application of recognised SyRB on a consolidated basis

May or shall a competent or a designated authority from a Member State, that recognises a systemic risk buffer rate set by another Member State in accordance with Article 133 of the CRD, require its domestically authorised institutions to apply that rate on a consolidated basis, covering all exposures targeted by the recognised systemic risk buffer held through subsidiaries, branches or through cross-border lending, in accordance with Article 134 of the CRD ? Does the legal framework permit or require that exposures of domestically authorised institutions held through subsidiaries located in the Member State that sets the buffer rate as well as in other Member States are also included in the scope of recognition? 

  • Legal act: Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Risk weighting attributed to gold in the form of a commodity

Is the definition of “gold bullion”, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1623, more restrictive than the definition previously set forth in the Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR), or this new definition shall be interpreted applying the clarification provided by the EBA in the Q&A 2016_3011?

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

Use of credit assessments by ECAIs not in scope of Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009.

Can external credit assessments that have been issued by an ECAI, but were not publicly disclosed, be used to determine the risk weight of an exposure under the Standardised Approach?

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

Own Funds Requirements before Securitisation (%) Ksa

Validation v11650_m states that for the positions reported in the C14.00 template that are not Covered Bonds or Other Liabilities, Own Funds Requirements before Securitisation (%) Ksa (c0223) should be reported. However, is this validation applicable if the positions are issuer loans (held to meet the securitisation risk retention requirements) and the very purpose of the issuer loan is to hold a 5% vertical slice – it is not subject to any credit trenching?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) 2023/2175 - RTS on the risk retention requirements for originators, sponsors, original lenders, and servicers

Passporting procedure for CIs and EMIs issuing tokens under MICAR

Are articles 146 (for credit institutions) and 48(3) (for e-money institutions) to be interpreted as submitting credit institutions and e-money institutions issuing ART/EMT on a crossborder basis to comply with the existing passporting framework set for these categories of establishments respectively by directives 2013/36/EU and 2009/110/EC? 

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 2023/1114 (MiCAR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Passporting procedure for non-CI ART issuers

Shall NCAs consider that articles 18, 21, 25 and 109 of MICA regulation set a specific passporting framework for “pure” ART issuers where: ART issuers are authorized to market tokens in Member States they declared during the authorization process as soon as they are authorized by home NCAs; within two working days of granting authorization, home NCAs only have to inform host national competent authorities, ESMA, EBA, ECB and competent national central bank of the Member States of the member states where ART issuers intend to market their token ; this information regarding passporting of ART issuers is publicly available on ESMA register? 

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 2023/1114 (MiCAR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Publication of white papers

Regarding entities exempted from authorisation pursuant to Article 16(2) of MiCAR, they shall notify the white paper to the competent authority of the home Member State, and the NCA is responsible for forwarding on the white paper of these entities to ESMA. However, it is unclear how the white paper is made available to the intended audiences of customers, and other relevant stakeholders and investors. Article 28 on publication of crypto-asset white papers only refers to ‘approved’ white papers (in accordance with Article 17(1) or Article 21(1) of MiCAR), without referring to notified white papers of exempted entities under Article 16(2) of MiCAR. Therefore, does Article 28 on publication of white paper of ART issuers also applies to issuers exempted under Article 16(2) of MiCAR?"

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 2023/1114 (MiCAR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Compliance of non-bank PSPs with the safeguarding requirements in PSD2

Where PIs and EMIs (referred to as non-bank PSPs) have direct access to central bank operated payment systems for settling payment transactions, would keeping a balance on a settlement account with the central bank/payment system, without the central bank maintaining a safeguarding account for the non-bank PSP, be compliant with the safeguarding requirements under Article 10 of PSD2?

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

Transactions executed via electronic mail (email)

Do transactions ordered by email and executed by an employee of the payment service provider, e.g., credit transfers orders sent from the e-mail address of the payer to the e-mail address of the payment service provider and executed accordingly qualify as transactions executed through a remote channel, at-distance channel or a payment instrument which may imply a risk of payment fraud or other abuses, pursuant to Article 69, Article 70, Article 72 and Article 97(1)(c) PSD2?

  • Legal act: Directive 2015/2366/EU (PSD2)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) 2018/389 - RTS on strong customer authentication and secure communication

Scope of Subordinated Debt Exposures under Art. 128 (1)(c)

Which bonds can be considered "subordinated debt" under Art. 128 (c)? Only senior non-preferred bonds? Senior Non-Preferred Bonds and Senior Preferred Bonds (which meet the criteria under Art. 72b(3)? Senior Non-Preferred Bonds and Senior Preferred Bonds (that meet the criteria set out in Art. 72b(3) and are recognized as eligible liabilities by the resolution authority)? Senior Non-Preferred Bonds and Senior Preferred Bonds issued by G-SII entities (which meet the criteria set out in Art. 72b(3) and are recognised by the resolution authority as eligible liabilities)?

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

Exclusion of cash withdrawal services from PSD2

Is it a prerequisite for an ATM operator,to qualify for the exemption of article 3(o), to co-operate with a Payment Service Provider (authorised within the EEA or with a relative passport where necessasry) offering payment service number 2 of the Annex 1 of the PSD2?  

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

Collateral requirements for the ‚another credit protection‘ alternative in the form of cash on deposit held with a third-party credit institution

Does Article 26e (10) (b) of the Amended Securitisation Regulation allow cash collateral to be provided also in the form of a guarantee or letter of credit given by a qualifying third-party credit institution?

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

Exposure to credit institutions in the form of derivative contracts

Should "exposure" also consider and include cash collateral held by the covered bond issuer from its swap counterparty? 

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

Providing payment service via Internet banking (web-application)

Is providing payment service via Internet banking (web-application) payment initiation channel considered to be issuing of payment instruments? 

  • Legal act: Directive 2015/2366/EU (PSD2)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: EBA/GL/2017/09 - Guidelines on authorisation and registration under PSD2