EBF STATEMENT
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EBF Welcomes Revised IReF Timeline: A Key Step Towards Harmonized EU Reporting
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Brussels, 6 December 2024 – The banking industry considers the Integrated Reporting Framework (IReF) as the very first concrete step in the revamping of the current reporting system for banks in Europe. While focused on statistical reporting, the IReF will serve as preamble to a more ambitious integration of EU-wide statistical, prudential and resolution reporting as ultimate objective for both authorities and the industry.
In this context, the EBF acknowledges the announcement by the ECB regarding the updated timeline foreseeing the start of the reporting in the fourth quarter of 2029 in order to provide the required time to have a fit for purpose product. A rescheduling in line with the calls by the EBF that will also help to discuss and clarify key aspects such as the planned pilot phase or any parallel phase that will have a substantial impact in the implementation cost by the banks, as well as ensuring maximum (syntactic and semantic) harmonization and the maximum reduction of additional national requirements as the only way to achieve a true cost benefit for the industry. This rescheduling of the IReF timeline, together with the start of operation of the Joint Bank Reporting Committee (JBRC) and the Reporting Contact Group (RCG), offers an opportunity to further concentrate on the harmonization aspect which is a necessary condition to meet the EBF “define once” principle.
Accordingly, the EBF renews its commitment to continue facilitating the close working cooperation between the ESCB and the banking industry towards ensuring the IReF meets the objectives set by authorities while at the same time provides to banks the required benefits to reduce reporting burden and cost.
Also, in its capacity of Co-Secretariat of the Banks’ Integrated Reporting Dictionary (BIRD), the EBF will continue working with the ECB towards ensuring the alignment between BIRD and IReF. An alignment that will make possible the direct application of BIRD for statistical reporting, with the aim to be further developed towards a complete integration with statistical, prudential and resolution requirements.
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For more information please contact:
Gonzalo Gasos, Senior Director of Prudential Policy & Supervision, g.gasos@ebf.eu
Francisco Saravia, Senior Policy Adviser – Prudential Policy & Supervision, f.saravia@ebf.eu
About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The federation is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure, and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere.
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]]>PRESS RELEASE
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EBF welcomes plans by ECB and EBA to step up efforts to make banking industry data reporting more efficient
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BRUSSELS, 18 March 2024 – The EBF welcomes the announcement by the ECB and the EBA regarding the formal establishment of the Joint Bank Reporting Committee (JBRC) that will intensify the joint work towards achieving an integrated and standardized reporting framework in Europe helping to reduce the extensive reporting burden for banks and improving the quality of the data reported to the authorities. The JBRC will definitively increase integration and coordination between authorities to also help promoting a clear and common understanding of reporting requirements as well as improving sharing and reusing of data among authorities.
Together with support of the future Reporting Contact Group (RCG), comprised by industry representatives, these will look at the design of reporting to avoid duplications of data requests and ad hoc collections, and make reporting more efficient and less costly to produce.
Having a fit for purpose structure and governance is vital given the needed involvement of the various European (ECB, EBA, SRB and EC) and national authorities, and the banking industry on what it would be one of the major projects for the banking industry over the next years towards achieving a true harmonization and integration of all type of reporting by banks, including statistical, prudential and resolution data.
“We strongly welcome that authorities have responded to our calls stressing the need for industry and authorities to work together to improve the efficiency of reporting in Europe having as a basis the EBF guiding principles launched in reporting in Europe having as a basis the EBF guiding principles launched in 2018 (1). The EBF is very supportive of all efforts for rationalizing and simplifying reporting requirements not only to improve the system but also helping to increase the competitiveness of EU businesses. We remain fully committed to working together with authorities and look forward to the establishment of the RCG as next step in the process”. says Wim Mijs, Chief Executive Officer of the EBF.
The EBF would like to emphasize the need for the creation of a single EU data reporting dictionary for which it is important to rely on existing initiatives such as the Banks’ Integrated Reporting Dictionary (BIRD) that is a successful collaboration between authorities and the banking industry towards helping banks navigate and respond to the different reporting requirements introduced by authorities. BIRD will be increasingly useful in the context of the upcoming Integrated Reporting Framework (IReF), expected to go live in 2027, and to which the banking industry is fully supportive being scalable from statistical reporting and expanding to meet the data needs by supervisors too; becoming the first step towards a true integrated reporting relying on a unique data model, data dictionary and reporting processes.
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For more information please contact:
Gonzalo Gasos, Senior Director of Prudential Policy & Supervision, g.gasos@ebf.eu
Francisco Saravia, Senior Policy Adviser – Prudential Policy & Supervision, f.saravia@ebf.eu
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]]>LETTER
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EBIC calls for the postponement of the Basel III implementation date in the EU
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BRUSSELS, 31 October 2023 – On 20 October, the European Banking Industry Committee (EBIC) submitted a joint letter to the co-legislators asking for a postponement of the Basel III implementation date in the European Union. EBIC strongly supports the ongoing legislative process aiming at finalizing the Banking Package. Given the substantial and comprehensive nature of the forthcoming legislative changes brought about by CRR III, a minimum of 18 months between the publication of CRR III rules in the Official Journal of the EU and the effective implementation date of the new rules will be necessary. Assuming CRR III publication in the Official Journal by end of 2023, EBIC suggests an initial application no earlier than 1 July 2025. Any postponement in the publication would require a further commensurate shift in the CRR III application.
- CRR III mandates the European Banking Authority (EBA) to undertake tasks related to over 70 Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) (altogether the EBA has 127 mandates) which must be factored into banks’ implementation of CRR III. A number of the EBA standards and guidelines are of high importance and mandatory for banks’ CRR III implementation to succeed and for banks to start reporting under the new rules as of the first application date.
- Besides the fact that EU institutions/supervisors need time to perform their legally established mandates, EU banks need a reasonable amount of time to transition to new regulations, allowing them to upgrade their systems and adapt to the new calculation and reporting requirements in a controlled manner.
- There is also an issue of practical alignment between the supervisory reporting and the capital requirements – as the two cannot be decoupled and the banks cannot implement the requirements without the reporting, which takes time to set up.
Finally, a postponement would reflect the process in other Basel jurisdictions, such as the USA or the UK. Even if the Basel III framework may not be fully applied to all institutions in these countries, the postponement of the first application date has already been announced there.
About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure, and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses, and innovators everywhere.
Media contact:
Vittoria Barbieri, Communications Officer, v.barbieri@ebf.eu
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]]>PRESS RELEASE
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Basel III agreement to further strengthen resilience of European banking sector, while maintaining its ability to finance growth
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BRUSSELS, 29 June 2023 – The EBF notes the agreement reached by the Swedish Presidency of the EU with the European Parliament and the European Commission on the Banking Package, a core legislative piece that will transpose into EU law the Finalisation of Basel III as well as other prudential topics.
“We are on track with the implementation of Basel III in Europe. The European banking system has stood firm in the face of bank crises in other countries this year, thanks to the significant level of resilience achieved during the regulatory reform. The agreement on the Banking Package implies a significant capital increase for European banks — it is important that other jurisdictions, notably the US, follow suit soon,” said EBF CEO Wim Mijs.
Today’s agreement retains the application of the output floor at a local level which will further increase the capital requirement for banking groups with cross-border subsidiaries, way beyond the consolidated level option offered by Basel III. The EBF is hopeful that it can be revisited in 2028 for a more integrated and efficient banking system.
Europe currently has the highest capital ratio across all global regions. We have to secure the competitiveness of the banking system for economic growth in Europe. It is also important to note that the Basel standards are applied across all banks in Europe, which has proven instrumental in avoiding contagion from the recent bank crises in other regions.
Beyond the Basel III reforms, the package does not outline an improved prudential treatment of securitisation. While a partial and transitory relief to securitisation is a step in the right direction, a broader approach is necessary to unlock the lending potential of European banks.
The Banking Package will deliver a significant number of technical mandates to the European Banking Authority (EBA) many of which will have a relevant effect on banks. Priority should be given to reporting guidelines, calculations, and certain regulatory fixes. It will be essential to plan the implementation to ensure sufficient preparatory time for the banking sector to ensure IT processes and controls are adapted accordingly.
With this agreement, Europe stays the course of Basel III implementation at the committed timeline of 1st of January 2025.
About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure, and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses, and innovators everywhere.
Media contact:
Rūta Barthet, Senior Media and Communications Officer, r.barthet@ebf.eu
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]]>EBF WORKSHOP WITH BAFIN
‘A Reporting System for the Future: Redesign options for regulatory reporting’
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Brussels, 6 October 2022 – As part of the banking industry’s involvement in the efforts towards reaching a European integrated reporting system, the European Banking Federation (EBF) and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) hosted recently a workshop to delve into the findings from the feasibility study “Redesign for Regulatory Reporting” produced by BaFin together with Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance and the German banking industry.
The workshop brought together about 200 participants from 80 banks in over 25 countries exposing the broad interest by the European banking industry on all initiatives aiming to simplify the implementation of reporting requirements for financial institutions and to fix the inefficiencies of the current reporting system in Europe that has been pushing the estimated average ongoing annual reporting costs for the financial industry to over €20 billion per year.
The workshop took industry representatives through the assessment of the current state of regulatory reporting in Europe, facing increasing burden and complexity, resulting in a data-driven reporting without templates as the preferred scenario for the parties involved in the BaFin study. Such scenario meaning in practice the delivery by banks of quality-assured granular data accompanied by a set of aggregated anchor values, based in the common data model format, with supervisors processing and aggregating these data to generate reports as the need arises and without involvement by institutions. This vision, replacing today’s template-based delivery, would help banks and authorities reaching benefits in terms of a truly Report Once principle for banks and improved capabilities for supervisory analyses for authorities, while at the same time being the most economically viable scenario as result of a cost-benefit analyses undertaken as part of the study. The workshop also presented the views on the findings from the perspective of a participating bank in the BaFin study.
While the scope of the BaFin study regarded supervisory reporting, the study also concluded that the data-driven approach without templates scenario is interoperable with supervisory and statistical initiatives. Accordingly, the vision could be well applied in the context of (i) the ongoing work following the feasibility study on an integrated reporting system produced by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in cooperation with the European System of Central Banks’ (ESCB), Single Resolution Board (SRB), under the monitoring by the European Commission (EC) in line with the mandate included in Article 430C of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), and (ii) the ESCB’s Integrated Reporting Framework (IReF).
The BaFin study also successfully applies the Banks’ Integrated Reporting Dictionary (BIRD)3 using the logical BIRD data model to integrate supervisory and statistical data requirements, having the benefits of reaching a regulatory data dictionary for a single collection of granular data and anchor values. The effective use of BIRD by the BaFin study is very relevant since a EU-wide single regulatory data dictionary is the cornerstone of the European project. Furthermore, with the IReF based on the BIRD data model, the BaFin study considers the IReF as a minimum viable product for statistics to be extended to other types of reporting, exploiting even more the synergies with the EBA’s feasibility study and becoming of relevance also for other authorities such as the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).
The vision developed by BaFin, Bundesbank and the German banking industry mirrors the EBF calls to have IReF as a scalable model not limited to statistical reporting only, seeking a single dictionary for all reporting duties with a common language within all EU reporting actors, and that reporting efforts need to be carefully reviewed and a common vision developed by banks together with the regulators and supervisors in a collaborative approach as the only way to find a new system that is feasible for all.
The EBF, as voice of Europe’s banking sector, remains fully committed to continue working closely together with all authorities and look forward to discussing the findings of the BaFin study with EU authorities.
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For more information:
Francisco Saravia, Senior Policy Adviser – Prudential Policy & Supervision, f.saravia@ebf.eu
About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere.
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JOINT ARTICLE
Conclusions from joint workshop
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On 18 February 2022, the four European banking associations (EACB, EAPB, EBF and ESBG) cohosted the “Access to better technology for (Supervisory) Reporting” workshop that brought together the entire European banking industry, the European Banking Authority and the international RegTech community to openly exchange views and learn from each other on how RegTech solutions could help banks reduce their reporting costs and what are the hurdles to clear along the way. 300 participants across Europe participated in this half-day, targeted workshop.
The presentations delivered by the banking industry clearly revealed the many challenges and complexities the industry has been facing for about 15 years due to the flood of additional data reporting requirements to banks. Data has never been as important as it is now with regulatory reporting having shifted from a simple administrative task in the past to a strategic objective high in the agenda of banks and a steering tool, with supervisors placing increasing focus on data quality. The current situation is the result of a layering of successive regulations, by different authorities at national and EU level, with the added complexities of different definitions and shorter delivery times demanding substantial investment by banks in systems, processes, and specialized staff. Banks have been mastering these challenges very well, generally speaking, but there is always room to become even more efficient.
While there are existing cases where banks are already benefitting from the use of technology either from in-house solutions or by creating a shared utility as result of a joint venture or other forms of pooling of resources by a number of banking groups in a country, the discussion revealed there is still ample room to explore and lot of work ahead to benefit from technology at a large scale.
A dedicated panel composed by RegTechs based across Europe confirmed that technology is available or is being developed to support banks with a wide range of services offering from end-to-end to targeted solutions. RegTechs also confirmed complexity is the most challenging aspect in the current reporting environment identifying standardization, infrastructure, and automation as tools to decrease the complexity.
The different ways regulatory reporting is done in Europe also adds complexity. Creating a more functional and interconnected ecosystem is key to start moving towards a much-needed standardization where RegTechs can play a key role. Replying to questions raised by the banking industry, RegTechs stressed that technology should be seen as innovation that could help banks reach beyond the 15-24% cost reduction as estimated by an EBA study last year, rather than a black box that brings its own complexity. RegTechs are also trying to remove barriers by intensively promoting their services for which forums like the workshop organized by the trade banking associations was an ideal setting to bridge the gaps between RegTech and the banking industry.
With a forward-looking perspective, the EBA provided an overview of how the different recently launched initiatives such as the Integrated Reporting System and the Commission’s supervisory data strategy aim to shape the future of supervisory reporting. The challenge is big, but the benefits are worth. The banking industry, RegTech community and supervisory authority agreed events like the workshop are key to foster collaboration and they will stay in close contact.
About the European Banking Federation:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere.
Subscribe to the EBF Weekly + FinReg Agenda
Every Friday at noon you can receive the EBF Weekly + Financial Regulation Agenda. This agenda presents an overview of upcoming European and international meetings and conferences in financial regulation, as well as important general financial and economic events and key EBF meetings for the week ahead. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
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]]>PRESS RELEASE
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Basel III package: EBF calls for further dialogue to secure Europe’s economic growth
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Brussels, 27 October 2021 — The European Banking Federation (EBF) takes note of the relevant items outlined in the legislative proposal published today by the European Commission and highlights the importance of continued dialogue between banks and policymakers to complete the implementation of the internationally agreed prudential standards of Basel III. While the proposal puts forward several aspects previously identified by the Federation and provides a basis for further discussion, permanent solutions must be adopted to maintain banks’ current capital ratios without reducing their capacity to finance the economic recovery and to fund Europe’s digital transformation and sustainable transition.
The impact of €27 billion represents the capital shortfall needed to meet the minimum requirements but does not reflect the amount of capital that most European banks will have to raise in order to maintain the current capital ratio of 15%. Preserving such a level of financial assets has proven crucial for keeping households and businesses afloat during an unprecedented crisis like Covid-19. To ensure a well-informed decision, the EBF urges EU authorities to disclose the amount of capital necessary to restore the current 15% capital ratio after implementing Basel III.
The EBF notes the recognition of double counting of requirements in the EU regulatory framework. The national buffers constitute an additional layer of gold-plated rules, multiplying the buffer requirements and the complexity of the EU regulatory framework. The output floor should be applied only to the international buffers, as in other jurisdictions, but not to the additional national buffers only employed in Europe.
“European banks are committed to getting the Basel reforms over the finish line. The Commission’s package pinpoints the most relevant issues and topics for further discussion – now we need to get them right”, said EBF CEO Wim Mijs. “The Banking Package is a unique opportunity to achieve a deeper integration of the banking sector across Europe reducing the competitive disadvantage of European banks. To deliver an effective and balanced prudential framework for banks and our clients – European households and businesses – we must take concrete steps to clear away the gold-plated national buffers. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with EU policymakers to accomplish this joint goal.”
For more information:
Ruta Barthet, Senior Media and Communications Officer
r.barthet@ebf.eu
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About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together 32 national banking associations in Europe that together represent a significant majority of all banking assets in Europe, with 3,500 banks – large and small, wholesale and retail, local and international – while employing approximately two million people. EBF members represent banks that make available loans to the European economy in excess of €20 trillion and that reliably handle more than 400 million payment transactions per day. Launched in 1960, the EBF is committed to a single market for financial services in the European Union and to supporting policies that foster economic growth
Subscribe to the EBF Weekly + FinReg Agenda
Every Friday at noon you can receive the EBF Weekly + Financial Regulation Agenda. This agenda presents an overview of upcoming European and international meetings and conferences in financial regulation, as well as important general financial and economic events and key EBF meetings for the week ahead. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to the EBF Morning Brief
The EBF Morning Brief is published Monday through Friday morning and brings you the top banking headlines, relevant announcements from the EU institutions and the latest from the EBF and its members, national banking associations in 32 countries in Europe. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
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]]>REPORT
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EBF paper on the review of the EU securitisation framework
BRUSSELS, 12 October 2021 – Under the Capital Markets Union 2020 Action Plan, the European Commission will engage in a review of the regulatory framework for securitisation in order to scale up the securitisation market in the EU. This provides an important opportunity to discuss the topic more broadly and the benefits that securitisation can bring to the European economy. In this context, the European Banking Federation has produced a paper that discusses fundamental aspects of the securitisation topic and how those link to the current discussions. In this context, the EBF has elaborated four priority topics that should be given particular attention: 1. capital non-neutrality, 2. the significant risk transfer process (SRT), 3. The liquidity treatment of securitisations, and 4. the disclosure requirements for securitisation. In addition to that, the EBF has also proposed a set of legislative amendments that could further improve the framework.
More information:
Lukas Bornemann, Policy Adviser Prudencial Policy and Supervision l.bornemann@ebf.eu
About the European Banking Federation:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere.
Subscribe to the EBF Weekly + FinReg Agenda
Every Friday at noon you can receive the EBF Weekly + Financial Regulation Agenda. This agenda presents an overview of upcoming European and international meetings and conferences in financial regulation, as well as important general financial and economic events and key EBF meetings for the week ahead. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to the EBF Morning Brief
The EBF Morning Brief is published Monday through Friday morning and brings you the top banking headlines, relevant announcements from the EU institutions and the latest from the EBF and its members, national banking associations in 32 countries in Europe. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
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]]>CONSULTATION RESPONSE
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EBA consultation on credit risk adjustments in the context of risk weights: EBF response
BRUSSELS, 06 October 2021 – The European Banking Federation has responded to the consultation of the European Banking Authority regarding the amendments to RTS on credit risk adjustments in the context of the calculation of risk weights.
The EBF supports the EBA amendment, which is an important step in the implementation of the European Commission NPL (non-performing loan) Action Plan. The amendment gives support to the secondary markets for NPLs. However, the EBF suggests some amendments to the EBA proposal, which would enhance the clarity of the proposal.
More information:
Lukas Bornemann, Policy Adviser Prudencial Policy and Supervision l.bornemann@ebf.eu
About the European Banking Federation:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from across Europe. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere.
Subscribe to the EBF Weekly + FinReg Agenda
Every Friday at noon you can receive the EBF Weekly + Financial Regulation Agenda. This agenda presents an overview of upcoming European and international meetings and conferences in financial regulation, as well as important general financial and economic events and key EBF meetings for the week ahead. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to the EBF Morning Brief
The EBF Morning Brief is published Monday through Friday morning and brings you the top banking headlines, relevant announcements from the EU institutions and the latest from the EBF and its members, national banking associations in 32 countries in Europe. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
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