Author: Selwyn Manning

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today launched a call for papers in view of its 14th Policy Research Workshop taking place on 18-19 November 2025 and titled “Bridging capital and growth – the role of financial structures and intermediaries”. The deadline for submitting papers is 6 June 2025.

The workshop aims to bring together economists and researchers from supervisory authorities and central banks, as well as leading academics, to discuss and explore policies that can ensure innovation in a context of competition and risk arbitrage, while ensuring financial stability.

In preparation for the workshop, the EBA invites the submission of policy-oriented, preferably empirical, research papers on the following topics:

• the impact of global capital flows on market efficiency and the role of financial intermediation;
• access to finance by entrepreneurs ensuring that capital is used in the most productive ways;
• provision of mechanisms for managing risk and how regulatory frameworks can contribute to the functioning  and stability of financial intermediaries;
• incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to support sustainable development and growth;
• progress in digital finance initiatives and better alignment with regulation and policies.

Interested parties can download here the detailed call for papers, which includes additional information on the proposed topics for the papers, composition of the programme committee and contact details for the submission of papers. The submission deadline is 6 June 2025.

Contributors will be notified by mid-September 2025.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) amending the existing Implementing Regulation on the joint decision process for internal model authorisation under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The revised ITS incorporate changes to the EU legal framework. This final draft amending ITS are part of the first phase of the EBA roadmap for implementing the EU Banking Package.

The key amendments include:

• a revised scope for the use of internal models for regulatory purposes under CRR III, where the possibility of applying these models for operational risk has been removed. As a result, references to the Advanced Measurement Approach (AMA) have been deleted from the scope of the revised ITS.
• updated references to the ITS and Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the functioning of supervisory colleges, reflecting changes in the revised supervisory colleges regulatory framework.

Legal basis

These final draft ITS have been developed in accordance with Article 20(8) of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013 (CRR), as amended by the Regulation (EU) 2024/1623 as regards requirements for credit risk, credit valuation adjustment risk, operational risk, market risk and the output floor (CRR III).

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today launched a public consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the threshold of activity at which Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) providing ‘banking-type ancillary services’, need to meet certain prudential risk management requirements set out in the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR). The aim of this work is to allow CSDs to do more settlement of foreign currency in commercial bank money without increasing the risk in CSDs or the overall financial system. This consultation runs until 16 June 2025. A public hearing will be held on 13 May.

The EBA is proposing a threshold with staggered requirements dependent on a CSD’s level and type of activity in banking-type ancillary services. This is to ensure that the threshold is risk sensitive and proportionate, without impacting market stability.

The EBA’s analysis included in this consultation paper shows that the maximum level of activity a CSD can provide before having to meet the requirements set out in CSDR is 2.5% of the total value of all securities transactions against cash settled in the books of the CSD over one year. This accounts for up to EUR 6.25 billion per year. Below 1.5% and up to 3.25bn, CSDs would only have to meet basic prudential requirements on credit worthiness, liquidity risk management policy and procedures, and a recovery plan.

Consultation process

Responses to the consultations can be sent to the EBA by clicking on the “send your comments” button on the consultation page.

All contributions received will be published after the consultation closes, unless requested otherwise. The deadline for the submission of comments is 16 June 2025.

A public hearing on this consultation will take place on 13 May 2025 from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST. Deadline for registration is 9 May 2025 at 16:00 CEST.

Legal basis and background

The EBA has developed these draft RTS under Article 59(9 of CSDR, which mandates the Authority to help support further settlement in foreign currencies by CSDs while still ensuring a level playing field in the industry. In particular, the EBA is mandated to set out a threshold at which CSDs providing ‘banking-type ancillary services’ need to meet certain prudential risk management requirements.

Banking-type ancillary services include activities such as providing cash accounts to, and accepting deposits from, participants in a securities settlement system, and payment services involving processing of cash and foreign exchange transactions. 

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 12-03-2025 | 09:00

Semiconductors are the backbone of our society and our economies, powering everything innovative from artificial intelligence, aerospace, defense, mobility, communications to energy. Strengthening Europe’s position in this strategic sector is not just an economic priority, but also a strategic necessity for prosperity and security, according to the nine involved countries. Better cooperation enhances technological sovereignty, resilience and strategic autonomy of the EU. The Semicon Coalition will work together with the European Commission who was in attendance during the launch today.

Minister Dirk Beljaarts of Economic Affairs of The Netherlands: “The ministers of the nine involved countries all agree that Europe’s governments, industry and knowledge institutes need to align their efforts. The EU must strongly enhance its cooperation. For the very first time we have agreed to coordinate a joint approach for the semiconductor industry. Which includes a common strategy to increase production capacity, invest in cutting-edge research and develop a skilled workforce throughout Europe.”

Objectives of the Semicon Coalition are expanding production capacity within the EU and further strengthening Europe’s current key leading positions within the global semiconductor value chain. The initiative is also responding to an ongoing global increase in public investments within this industry. At present, a joint financing of €43 billion is available for the European semiconductor industry through the EU Chips Act. Other large public multibillion investments are the CHIPS & Science Act in the US, The Big Fund in China and several substantial initiatives in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Together with the European Commission the new Semicon Coalition will explore support possibilities within Europe for the long term.

The common statement on the establishment of the Semicon Coalition can be read here.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – the ESAs) today issued an Opinion on the European Commission’s (EC) rejection of the draft Regulatory Technical Standard (RTS) on subcontracting.

The EC rejected the original draft RTS on subcontracting, which specified further elements that financial entities must determine and assess when subcontracting ICT services that support critical or important functions under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), on the grounds that certain elements exceeded the powers given to the ESAs by DORA.

Today’s Opinion acknowledges the assessment performed by the EC and confirms that the amendments proposed ensure that the draft RTS is in line with the mandate set out under DORA. For this reason, the ESAs do not recommend further amendments to the RTS in addition to the ones proposed by the EC.

The ESAs encourage the EC to finalise the adoption of the RTS without further delay as submitted to the ESAs.

Legal basis

Article 30(5) of DORA mandates the ESAs to develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying the elements that a financial entity must determine and assess when subcontracting ICT services supporting critical or important functions. The ESAs submitted to the EC their original RTS on 17 July 2024. On 21 January 2025 and in accordance with Article 15(1) of the ESAs Regulations, the EC notified the ESAs that it rejected the draft RTS. Pursuant to Article 10(1) of the ESAs Regulations, the ESAs prepared this Opinion on the proposed amendments to the draft RTS by the EC.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on four draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) that will be part of the EBA’s response to the European Commission’s Call for Advice.  These technical standards will be central to the EU’s new AML/CFT regime and will shape how institutions and supervisors will comply with their AML/CFT obligations under the new AML/CFT package. The consultation runs until 6 June 2025.

The proposed RTSs focus on the following aspects for which the EBA is providing its advice:

• he way the new EU Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) will decide which institutions will be subject to the direct supervision. The EBA is proposing that AMLA first determines which institutions are eligible for direct supervision taking into account their cross-border activities. In a second step, AMLA would consider the outcomes of the harmonised money-laundering/terrorist financing (ML/TF) risk assessment methodology.
• the determination of the ML/TF risk associated with each institution. The EBA is proposing to put in place a harmonised methodology that all national supervisors will apply when assessing an institution’s inherent risks, the quality of controls and the residual risks that remain after the controls have been applied. The proposed approach will ensure that supervisors’ entity-level risk assessments are consistent with comparable outcomes across Member States. It would also reduce regulatory burden for cross-border institutions, especially because different supervisors’ information requests would be aligned.
• the extent and quality of information institutions will have to obtain as part of the customer due diligence process under the new AML/CFT regime. To achieve effective outcomes, and to limit the cost of compliance, the EBA is proposing a framework within which institutions can choose the most appropriate approach to the extent that it is in compliance with the new AML Regulation. For example, the EBA lists the types of documents and sources of information that institutions should consult, rather than specify the documents and sources themselves.
• on indicators  and criteria to be taken into account when setting the level of pecuniary sanctions or taking administrative measures including developing a methodology on how to impose  periodic penalty payments. The aim is to ensure that AML/CFT breaches are assessed in the same way by all supervisors across the EU and that the enforcement action is proportionate, dissuasive and effective.

The European Commission has asked the EBA to prepare the above-mentioned technical standards to support the rapid and effective start of AMLA operations. The EBA will submit its response with the above-mentioned technical standards to the European Commission on 31 October 2025.

Consultation process

Comments to the consultation paper can be sent by clicking on the “send your comments” on the EBA’s consultation page. The deadline for the submission of comments is 6 June 2025. The EBA will consider the feedback received to this consultation when finalising the response to the European Commission’s Call for advice.

All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation, unless requested otherwise.

The EBA will hold a virtual public hearing on the consultation paper on 10 April 2025 from 14:00 CET. The EBA invites interested stakeholders to register using this link by 8 April 2025 at 16:00 CET. The dial-in details will be communicated to those who have registered for the meeting.

Legal basis and background

The EBA’s work on these RTS stems from the European Commission’s Call for Advice of 12 March 2024. The latter relates to the preparation of four regulatory mandates under Article 40(2) of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 (AMLD6), Article 12(7) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 (AMLAR), Article 28(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR) and Article 53(10) of AMLD6.

These mandates are part of the new AML/CFT package that was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 19 June 2024. The package, which consists of four legal texts, will transform how the fight of money laundering and terrorist financing is organised in the EU. It creates a new agency that will directly supervise several financial institutions in the EU, harmonises the approaches of national AML/CFT supervisors and financial intelligence units within the EU and introduces for the first time a Single AML/CFT Rulebook.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on fees to be paid by financial and non-financial counterparties requiring the validation of pro forma models under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The consultation runs until 7 April 2025.

​Under EMIR, the EBA is granted the new role as central validator of pro forma models for the whole European Union. Pro forma models, such as ISDA SIMM, are used by the industry to calculate initial margin. To perform this new role, the EBA will charge financial and non-financial counterparties an annual fee per each validated pro forma model. The fees are expected to cover the costs incurred by the EBA in performing this role as central validator.

The discussion paper outlines the EBA budgeting approach and the main estimated costs for the performance of the tasks as central validator. In particular, it proposes calculation methods for the fees to be charged to counterparties and specifies practical aspects such as the fees modalities of payment.

Consultation process

Comments to this consultation can be sent to the EBA by clicking on the “Send your comments” button on the consultation page. Please note that the deadline for the submission of comments is 7 April 2025. All contributions received will be published following the close of the consultation, unless requested otherwise.

Legal basis, background and next steps

Article 11(12a) of EMIR mandates the EBA to set up a central validation function for the elements and general aspects of pro forma models, and changes thereto, used or to be used by financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties. The EBA shall charge an annual fee, per pro forma model, to financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties using the pro forma models validated by EBA.

On 31 July 2024, the EBA received a Call for advice on a possible Delegated Act on fees with the request to submit its response by Q2 2025. The EBA is requested to ‘widely consult market participants’ as part of its response.

The feedback received from this consultation will help the EBA finalise its response to the European Commission’s call for advice on a possible Delegated Act on fees.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today issued an Opinion in response to the European Commission’s proposed changes to its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the information to be provided to competent authorities when authorising the offer to the public of asset-referenced tokens or the admission to trade them under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).

In this Opinion, the EBA accepts the changes proposed by the European Commission, in particular those considered as substantive. At the same time the EBA invites the European Commission to consider amending the Level 1 text at the next available opportunity, to include those elements that were set out in the draft RTS submitted to the Commission, given their importance from a supervisory perspective. Namely, the requirements of a market policy abuse, of an independent third-party audit about the issuer’s proprietary DLT that is operated by the issuer or by a third-party operator, and of a comprehensive notion of good repute aligned with the rest of the financial sector.

Legal basis and background  

This Opinion is based on Article 10(1), para. 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, which requires the EBA to submit its response in the form of an opinion to amendments to draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) proposed by the EC. 

The draft RTS on information for application for authorisation to offer to the public and to seek admission to trading of ARTs specify the information requirements for authorisation to offer to the public or seek admission to trading of asset-referenced tokens under MiCAR. They aim to regulate access to the EU market of ARTs by applicant issuers.

On 6 May 2024, the EBA submitted its final draft RTS to the European Commission and on 13 January 2025, the latter sent a letter to the EBA about its intention to endorse the RTS with amendments and subsequently submitted a modified version of the RTS with the envisaged changes.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 17-02-2025 | 09:00

Third edition

NATO unveiled its first public mural in January 2024. Made by street artists in Vilnius, Lithuania, in honour of the 2023 summit, it symbolises the alliance’s collective defence mission. The contest continued in Washington, DC, on the occasion of NATO’s 75th anniversary in 2024. This year the honour goes to The Hague, where young artists will have an opportunity to design the NATO summit mural.

The mural contest is part of the campaign #ProtectTheFuture, an alliance-wide programme to encourage involvement by young people, which stresses the importance of freedom, security, democratic values and peace.

The mural created for the first NATO art contest, entitled ‘Life Under a Peaceful Sky‘, was designed by the young Lithuanian artist Žygimantas Amelinas and can be found on a wall next to the Reformers Park in Vilnius. The second mural, entitled ‘Security through Cooperation’, was designed by the young Danish artist Eske Toubourg and painted by Washington muralist Hamilton Glass in the centre of Washington, near the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre.

Criteria

The contest is open to everyone between the ages of 18 and 35 from one of the 32 NATO countries. This includes both aspiring artists and anyone else interested in sharing a visual design related to this year’s theme, ‘Maintaining Our Shared Future’. Artists are encouraged to create an optical illusion of a three-dimensional design for a two-dimensional surface. Entries must be submitted via the NATO website no later than 31 March 2025.

Unveiling

One of the members of the jury is Michiel Corver, director of The Hague Street Art. The winning work will be unveiled in The Hague in June 2025, and will be visible to world leaders and representatives at the summit.

Source: European Banking Authority

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today launched a consultation to amend the Implementing Regulation on the benchmarking of credit risk, market risk and IFRS9 models for the 2026 exercise. The most significant changes, in the market risk framework, are the new templates for the collection of the alternative internal model approach (AIMA) risk measures under the fundamental review of the trading book (FRTB) and the extension of the scope of the exercise to banks that apply solely the Alternative Standardised Approach (ASA) methodology. For the credit risk framework only minor changes are being proposed. This consultation runs until 26 May 2025.

The EBA benchmarking exercise is the basis for both the supervisory assessment and the horizontal analysis of the outcome of internal models. It ensures consistent monitoring of the variability of own funds requirements resulting from the application of internal models as well as of the impact of the several different supervisory and regulatory measures, which influence the capital requirements and solvency ratios in the EU. In this regard, this consultation paper updates the information to be collected in the 2026 exercise.

The changes will be substantial for the market risk part. Besides the new templates and instructions for collecting the AIMA FRTB risk measures (expected shortfall, default risk charge, and stress scenario risk measure),  the scope of the exercise will be extended to banks that apply solely the ASA methodology. This extension is a direct application of the revised wording of the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD VI) and has a massive impact on the number of banks participating in the market risk assessment. In this regard, the FRTB ASA data collection was already developed in the past exercises, so the amendments to the framework of the exercise are less extensive.

As regards the credit risk benchmarking, the amendments to the ITS will provide a mapping between the asset classes used for the definition of the benchmarking portfolios and the breakdown of Credit Risk IRB templates adopted in the revised ITS on supervisory reporting, in line with changes in the regulatory framework related to the new Banking Package (Capital Requirements Regulation – CRR3, and CRD6).

Consultation process

Responses to the consultations can be sent to the EBA by clicking on the “send your comments” button on the consultation page.

All contributions received will be published after the consultation closes, unless requested otherwise. The deadline for the submission of comments is 26 May 2025

A public hearing on this consultation will take place on 10 April 2025 from 14:00 to 15:30 CEST. Deadline for registration is 8 April 2025 at 16:00 CEST.

Legal basis

This draft ITS have been developed in accordance with article 78 of the CRD, which requires the EBA to specify the benchmarking portfolios, templates and definitions to be used as part of the annual benchmarking exercises. These are used by competent authorities to conduct an annual assessment of the quality of internal approaches used for the calculation of own funds requirements.