The EBA strengthens cross border supervisory cooperation with third countries through its updated equivalence Guidelines

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has updated its Guidelines on the equivalence of confidentiality and professional secrecy regimes in third countries, reinforcing the EU’s commitment to safeguarding confidential information and enabling effective cross‑border supervisory cooperation.

Key updates and impact

The revised Guidelines expand the scope of the original 2022 Guidelines to reflect new requirements under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and incorporate the latest EBA equivalence assessments. The updated framework confirms that the confidentiality and professional secrecy regimes of several authorities, including those in Australia, China, Montenegro, Peru, Serbia and the UK, are now considered equivalent to EU standards.

In addition, the revised Guidelines streamline definitions, update legal references, and clarify how competent authorities should apply the framework when sharing information or engaging in supervisory cooperation.

Background

By extending the scope of the Equivalence Guidelines, the EBA harmonises the approach that competent authorities across the EU should adopt when cooperating with their counterparts in third countries. Competent authorities must report their compliance with the Guidelines within two months of the publication of translations into the official EU languages.

These Guidelines are part of EBA’s broader effort to enhance supervisory convergence and facilitate international cooperation. More information on this can be found here.

Legal basis

Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 mandates EBA to support Member States in ensuring third-country confidentiality and professional secrecy frameworks meet EU standards.

Article 100 of MiCAR requires that information exchanged between competent authorities under this Regulation must remain confidential and protected by professional secrecy, with disclosure allowed only in strictly defined legal circumstances and binding on anyone working for or with those authorities.