The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its third mandatory Basel III monitoring report, assessing the impact that the EU implementation of the Basel III framework in 2033 will have on EU banks. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has also published the results of its latest Basel III monitoring exercise, which shows that capital and liquidity ratios remained stable in the second half of 2023.

Ireland—Banking & Financial Service analysis: This article, was written by the Financial Regulation Team at A&L Goodbody LLP. The European Banking Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority have launched a consultation on draft revised joint guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have published a discussion paper on a potential review of the investment firms’ prudential framework. The discussion paper aims at gathering early stakeholder feedback to inform the response to the European Commission’s call for advice (CfA). Responses are sought by 3 September 2024. To assess the impact of the possible changes discussed in the paper, the EBA also launched a data collection exercise on a voluntary basis.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have issued their technical advice in response to the European Commission's call for advice on the Investment Firms Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2033) (IFR) and Investment Firms Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/2034) (IFD). They propose limiting significant changes to the framework, which they say has ‘proven to be fit-for-purpose, as confirmed by stakeholder feedback during the joint consultation’.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have published a joint report analysing recent developments in cryptoassets, focusing on decentralised finance (DeFi) and crypto lending, borrowing, and staking. The report contributes to the European Commission’s report to the European Parliament and Council under Article 142 of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has announced that the results of the 2025 EU-wide stress test, including individual results for participating banks, will be published on 1 August 2025 at 18:00 CEST. The baseline scenario is based on projections from national central banks as of December 2024, while the adverse scenario reflects key financial stability risks identified by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), the EBA and the European Central Bank (ECB) in late 2024. The stress test methodology incorporates the new EU banking package effective since 1 January 2025 and is intended as a risk assessment exercise rather than an evaluation of regulatory changes.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published end-2024 data related to two key concepts and indicators in the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD), namely financial means available to, and covered deposits protected by, national deposit guarantee schemes (DGSs). The EBA publishes this data for each Member State, and on a yearly basis to enhance the transparency and public accountability of DGSs across the EU to the benefit of depositors, markets, policymakers, DGSs and Members States.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a speech by its chair, José Manuel Campa, on fintech and the role of the financial sector in contributing to the competitiveness of the EU. Campa discussed the EBA’s objectives relating to innovation, including setting up and starting oversight under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and supervision under the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCAR), as well as increasing focus on innovation and consumers, ensuring a smooth transition to the new AML/CFT framework.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a decision outlining procedures related to the significance assessment of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs), and the transfer of supervisory responsibilities to the EBA, including the establishment of supervisory colleges for significant ARTs (s-ARTs) and significant EMTs (s-EMTs).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a consultation paper on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) concerning the threshold of activity for Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) that provide ‘banking-type ancillary services’ as required by the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR). These standards are designed to enable CSDs to enhance their foreign currency settlements in commercial bank money while mitigating risks to themselves and the financial system. The EBA proposes a risk-sensitive and proportionate threshold with staggered requirements based on the CSD's activity level and type.  Responses are sought by 16 June 2025, with a public hearing scheduled for 13 May 2025. After the consultation, the EBA will revise the draft RTS and submit them to the European Commission for adoption.

EU Law analysis: The European Banking Authority (EBA) is consulting on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR3) regarding the equivalent mechanism for unfinished property. The RTS specify the conditions that a legal mechanism should meet in order to recognise a property under construction in the own fund requirements calculation under the standardised approach of credit risk. Responses are sought by 13 August 2024.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a consultation on the fees for the validation of pro forma models under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). Article 11(12a) of EMIR has assigned the EBA as the central validator for these models across the EU, including the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Standard Initial Margin Model (ISDA SIMM) used to calculate initial margin. To fulfil this role, the EBA will charge an annual fee for each validated pro forma model, covering the costs incurred in this capacity. The EBA has published a discussion paper elaborating on the EBA's budgeting approach, estimated costs, fee calculation methods, and payment modalities. Responses are sought by 7 April 2025.