Elke König of SRB on Liquidation Rules for Small and Medium-Size Banks
SRB published an article that advocates developing a common set of rules for liquidation of small and medium-size banks in EU. The article was written by the SRB Chair Elke König and was originally published in Views, the magazine of the Eurofi Forum held in Helsinki in September 2019. The article notes that building the capital buffers may be challenging for smaller fully deposit-funded banks. Therefore, a common set of rules for winding down such banks—for some SRB banks and all less significant banks—could be beneficial.
The article highlights that the decision to put a failing institution into resolution depends on the outcome of a “public interest assessment,” determining if the preservation of a bank’s critical functions is required to maintain financial stability. If outcome of the public interest assessment is negative, a failing bank will be sent into national insolvency. To increase transparency, SRB recently published a paper on public interest assessment, presenting the methodology and how SRB assesses the criteria set out by the EU law.
In due consideration of proportionality in resolution planning, the loss-absorption requirements for each institution are carefully adjusted to the choice of resolution tools. The banks, for which (in case of failure) no resolution is foreseen, do not have to build the Minimum Requirement for own funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) on top of their supervisory capital requirements for going concern. In contrast, for banks, whose preferred strategy is resolution, the MREL policy of SRB and its expectations for resolvability provide for certain adjustments to allow for proportionality as well. SRB can also grant transitional periods for banks to allow for a gradual build-up of MREL requirements. SRB must strike a careful balance between feasibility of the build-up of MREL and the credibility of the resolution strategy.
While there is one common European resolution scheme in the Banking Union, there are 19 national insolvency laws when winding-down a (cross-border) bank. A set of common standards, practices, and harmonized rules for the liquidation of banks would considerably facilitate resolution planning, increase predictability, and prevent diverging outcomes in different member states. Needless to say that administrative procedures might be preferable to judicial procedures. At the end of this process might stand the creation of a European bank liquidation regime—a European FDIC. Not only would this ensure centralized decision-making but also the application of a harmonized and effective toolbox supported by a European deposit insurance.
Related Link: Article
Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking Union, MREL, Resolution Planning, Proportionality, Capital Buffers, Deposit Insurance, Capital Requirements, SRB
Featured Experts
María Cañamero
Skilled market researcher; growth strategist; successful go-to-market campaign developer
Pierre-Etienne Chabanel
Brings expertise in technology and software solutions around banking regulation, whether deployed on-premises or in the cloud.
Nicolas Degruson
Works with financial institutions, regulatory experts, business analysts, product managers, and software engineers to drive regulatory solutions across the globe.
Related Articles
EBA Analyzes Impact of Unwind Mechanism of Liquidity Coverage Ratio
EBA published a report analyzing the impact of the unwind mechanism of the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) for a sample of European banks over a three-year period, from the end of 2016 to the first quarter of 2020.
ECB Outlines Views on Possible Changes to AnaCredit Rule and TLTROs
In response to questions from a member of the European Parliament, the ECB President Christine Lagarde issued a letter clarifying the possibility of amending the AnaCredit Regulation and making targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) dependent on the climate-related impact of bank loans.
IASB Begins First Phase of Post-Implementation Review of IFRS 9
IASB started the post-implementation review of the classification and measurement requirements in IFRS 9 on financial instruments and added the review as a project to its work plan.
FSB Report Examines Progress in Resolvability of Systemic Institutions
FSB published a report that examines progress in implementing policy measures to enhance the resolvability of systemically important financial institutions.
EBA Benchmarks National Insolvency Frameworks Across EU
EBA published a report on the benchmarking of national loan enforcement frameworks across 27 EU member states, in response to the call for advice from EC.
FSB Reports Assess Impact of Pandemic on Financial Stability
FSB published a letter from its Chair Randal K. Quarles, along with two reports exploring various aspects of the market turmoil resulting from the COVID-19 event.
RBNZ Consults on Implementation of Capital Review Changes
RBNZ launched a consultation on the details for implementing the final Capital Review decisions announced in December 2019.
IASB Announces Andreas Barckow as the New Chair from July 2021
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, which are responsible for the governance and oversight of IASB, have announced the appointment of Dr. Andreas Barckow as the IASB Chair, effective July 2021.
HKMA Consults on Capital Rules for Bank Equity Investments in Funds
HKMA issued a letter to consult the banking industry on a full set of proposed draft amendments to the Banking (Capital) Rules for implementing the Basel standard on capital requirements for banks’ equity investments in funds in Hong Kong.
ESRB Supports Extension of Macro-Prudential Measure by Swedish FSA
ESRB published an opinion assessing the decision of Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) to extend the application period of a stricter measure for residential mortgage lending, in accordance with Article 458 of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR).
