Publications on Financial Innovation
This section provides a comprehensive list of the EBA and joint ESA publications related to Financial Innovation ranging from Technical Standards to Guidelines, Recommendations and Opinions as well as Reports.
2023
ESAs launch discussion on criteria for critical ICT third-party service providers and oversight fees
The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) today published a joint Discussion Paper seeking stakeholders’ input on aspects of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This Discussion Paper follows the European Commission’s request for technical advice on the criteria for critical ICT third-party providers (CTPPs) and the oversight fees to be levied on them. Interested stakeholders are invited to provide their input by 23 June 2023.
Archive
EBA provides its advice to the EU Commission on non-bank lending
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published a Report on non-bank lending in response to the European Commission’s February 2021 Call for Advice on this topic. The EBA’s proposals aim at addressing risks arising from the provision of lending by non-bank entities in the areas of supervision, consumer protection, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), macro and microprudential risks.
EU financial regulators warn consumers on the risks of crypto-assets
The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, ESMA and EIOPA – the ESAs) today warn consumers that many crypto-assets are highly risky and speculative. The ESAs set out key steps consumers can take to ensure they make informed decisions.
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) published today a joint report in response to the European Commission’s February 2021 Call for Advice on Digital Finance. The proposals put forward aim at maintaining a high level of consumer protection and addressing risks arising from the transformation of value chains, platformisation and the emergence of new ‘mixed-activity groups’ i.e. groups combining financial and non-financial activities.
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) published today a statement welcoming the European Systemic Risk Board’s (ESRB) Recommendation on systemic cyber risk, which calls on the ESAs to prepare for the gradual development of a Pan-European systemic cyber incident coordination framework (EU-SCICF). This will support an effective and coordinated response at EU-level in the event of a major cross-border cyber incident that could have a systemic impact on the Union’s financial sector.
ESAs procedural framework for Innovation Facilitator Cross-Boarder Testing
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have developed a procedural framework to facilitate the cross-border testing of innovations in regulatory sandboxes. The procedural framework takes into account the different scope and characteristics of regulatory sandboxes across the EU and lays down the rules of procedure for bilateral and multilateral cooperation between national competent authorities.
In recent years, national competent authorities (NCAs) in the EU have adopted various initiatives to facilitate financial innovation and promote greater engagement between NCAs and firms on innovation-related issues, enhancing firms’ understanding of regulatory and supervisory expectations and increasing the knowledge of NCAs about innovations and the opportunities and risks they present. These initiatives include the establishment of ‘innovation facilitators’, which typically take the form of ‘innovation hubs’ and ‘regulatory sandboxes’. As the innovation facilitators in the EU operate at a national level, firms may face challenges when seeking to rapidly scale up financial innovations across the EU as they may need to contact multiple innovation facilitators on an individual basis. In accordance with the European Commission’s September 2020 Digital Finance Strategy, the ESAs have developed a common procedural framework on which firms and NCAs may rely to share testing-related information in a structured manner across borders. The procedural framework takes into account the different scope and characteristics of regulatory sandboxes across the EU. The framework enables all types of firms to indicate interest in invoking the framework should the firm have applied for at least one regulatory sandbox in the EU.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report on the platformisation of the EU banking and payments sector. The EBA identifies a rapid growth in the use of digital platforms to ‘bridge’ customers and financial institutions, a trend expected to accelerate in line with the wider trend toward the digitisation of the EU financial sector. Platformisation presents a range of potential opportunities for both EU customers and financial institutions. However, new forms of financial, operational, and reputational interdependencies are emerging and the EBA identifies steps to strengthen supervisory capacity to monitor market developments.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an analysis of the current RegTech landscape in the EU. The Report assesses the overall benefits and challenges faced by financial institutions and RegTech providers in the use of RegTech. It also identifies potential risks arising from RegTech solutions that supervisors will need to address and proposes actions designed to enhance knowledge and skills in competent authorities. These actions also aim to ensure technological neutrality in regulatory and supervisory approaches to RegTech, whilst addressing any inadvertent obstacles within the Single Market to facilitate the adoption of RegTech across the EU.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an Opinion on supervisory actions national competent authorities (NCAs) should take to ensure banks remove any remaining obstacles that prevent third party providers from accessing payment accounts, which restrict EU consumers’ choice of payment services. The Opinion will contribute to a level playing field across the EU and to a consistent application and supervision of relevant requirements under the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and the EBA Regulatory Technical Standards on strong customer authentication and common and secure communication (RTS on SCA&CSC).
Crypto-assets: ESAs remind consumers about risks
As crypto-assets, including so-called virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, continue to attract public attention, the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – together the ‘ESAs’) recall the continued relevance of their previous warnings. The ESAs remind consumers that some crypto-assets are highly risky and speculative and, as stated in the ESAs’ February 2018 joint warning, consumers must be alert to the high risks of buying and/or holding these instruments, including the possibility of losing all their money.
Letter from John Berrigan, DG FISMA, regarding the Call for Advice to the ESAs on digital finance and related issues | Call for advice
The EBA supports the Commission’s proposal for a new Digital Finance Strategy for Europe
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its response to the European Commission’s consultation on a new Digital Finance Strategy for Europe. The EBA is committed to securing technology neutrality in regulatory and supervisory approaches and strongly supports the Commission’s initiative towards a new Digital Finance Strategy. The EBA identifies in its response a wide range of possible EU-level actions to support the scaling of innovative technology cross-border whilst ensuring high standards of consumer protection and financial sector resilience. The EBA looks forward to the publication of the Digital Finance Strategy and stands ready to play its role in optimising the EU Single Market for digital finance.
The EBA publishes thematic report on the development, implementation and adoption of Big Data and Advanced Analytics
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report on the recent trends of BD&AA in the banking sector and on the key considerations in the development, implementation and adoption of BD&AA. The aim of this assessment is to share knowledge among the stakeholders and, in particular, to ensure regulators and supervisors are well informed on the developments, in an effort to support technological neutrality across the regulatory and supervisory approaches. The need for necessary competence is becoming increasingly important, raising an important challenge for institutions, supervisors and regulators. Training and development, as well as closer engagement between the relevant stakeholders, could be an appropriate starting point for addressing this challenge.
Joint ESA Advice on the need for legislative improvements relating to ICT risk management requirements
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published today a joint report on proposed legislative improvements to promote stronger operational resilience and harmonisation in the EU financial sector. The proposals address the topics of ICT risk management, incident reporting and the need for an appropriate oversight framework to monitor the activities of critical third party service providers.
Joint Advice on the costs and benefits of a coherent cyber resilience testing framework for significant market participants and infrastructures within the EU financial sector
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published today a joint report on the costs and benefits of a coherent cyber resilience-testing framework for significant market participants and infrastructures within the EU financial sector. The report sets out short and long term proposals for testing frameworks to ensure a sufficient cyber maturity level of identified cross-sector entities.
The EBA calls on the European Commission to take action to facilitate the scaling up of cross-border activity
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a report identifying potential impediments to the cross-border provision of banking and payment services in the EU. Developed under the EBA’s FinTech Roadmap, this Report calls on the European Commission to facilitate cross-border access, including the update of interpretative communications on the cross-border provision of services and further harmonisation of consumer protection, conduct of business and AML/CFT requirements, in order to facilitate the scaling up of activity cross-border.
EBA publishes Report on regulatory perimeter, regulatory status and authorisation approaches in relation to FinTech activities
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the findings of its analysis on the regulatory framework applicable to FinTech firms when accessing the market. The Report illustrates the developments on the regulatory perimeter across the EU, the regulatory status of FinTech firms, and the approaches followed by competent authorities when granting authorisation for banking and payment services.
EBA assesses impact of FinTech on payment institutions and e-money institutions business models
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a thematic Report on the impact of FinTech on payment institutions' (PIs) and electronic money institutions' (EMIs) business models. This Report points out the EBA's key observations on PIs' and EMIs' strategies and business model changes, in particular focusing on the current trends and drivers, the different approaches to FinTech, including their interaction with BigTech firms, and the level of implementation of innovative technologies. The Report, which is in line with the priorities listed in its FinTech Roadmap, does not foresee or intend to model scenarios for potential future development of institutions. The Report aims to share knowledge and provide support to supervisors and other stakeholders in identifying and understanding the main trends that could impact PIs' and EMIs' business models and pose potential challenges to their sustainability.
EBA reports on crypto-assets
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the results of its assessment of the applicability and suitability of EU law to crypto-assets. Typically, crypto-asset activities do not constitute regulated services within the scope of EU banking, payments and electronic money law, and risks exist for consumers that are not addressed at the EU level. Crypto-asset activities may also give rise to other risks, including money laundering. In light of these issues, the EBA recommends that the European Commission carry out further analysis to determine the appropriate EU-level response. The EBA also identifies a number of actions that it will take in 2019 to enhance the monitoring of financial institutions' crypto-asset activities and consumer-facing disclosure practices.
ESAs publish joint report on regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published today a joint report on innovation facilitators (regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs). The report sets out a comparative analysis of the innovation facilitators established to date within the EU. The ESAs also set out best practices for the design and operation of innovation facilitators.
EBA assesses risks and opportunities from Fintech and its impact on incumbents business models
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the first products of its FinTech Roadmap, namely (i) a thematic report on the impact of FinTech on incumbent credit institutions' business models and (ii) a thematic report on the prudential risks and opportunities arising for institutions from FinTech. Both reports fall under the wider context of the newly established EBA FinTech Knowledge Hub and aim to raise awareness within the supervisory community and the industry on potential prudential risks and opportunities from current and potential FinTech applications and understand the main trends that could impact incumbents' business models and pose potential challenges to their sustainability.
EBA publishes Opinion on the implementation of the RTS on strong customer authentication and common and secure communication
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an Opinion on the implementation of the regulatory technical standards (RTS) on strong customer authentication (SCA) and common and secure communication (CSC), which will apply from 14 September 2019. In the Opinion, the EBA clarifies a number of issues identified by market participants and Competent Authorities (CAs) to assist in this implementation.
EBA provides clarity to market participants for the implementation of the technical standards on strong customer authentication and common and secure communication under the PSD2
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today two regulatory products, an Opinion and a Consultation Paper on draft Guidelines, to clarify a number of issues identified by market participants in relation to the regulatory technical standards (RTS) on strong customer authentication and common and secure communication (SCA and CSC), which will apply from 14 September 2019.
EU financial regulators warn against risks for EU financial markets, Brexit, asset repricing and cyber-attacks key risks
The securities, banking and insurance sectors in the European Union (EU) face multiple risks, the latest report on risks and vulnerabilities by the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) shows. The ESA report for the second half of 2017 outlines the following risks as potential sources of instability:
EBA Roadmap on FinTech
Taking account of the feedback to the EBA's 2017 Discussion Paper on FinTech, and the new mandates for the EBA set out in the European Commission's FinTech Action Plan, the EBA's FinTech Roadmap describes its priorities for 2018/2019 and provides an indicative timeline for the completion of these tasks.
ESAs weigh benefits and risks of Big Data
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published today its final report on Big Data analysing its impact on consumers and financial firms. Overall, the ESAs have found that while the development of Big Data poses some potential risks to financial services consumers, the benefits of this innovation currently outweigh these. Many of the risks identified by the ESAs are mitigated by existing legislation.
Joint ESAs Warning on Virtual Currencies
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) for securities (ESMA), banking (EBA), and insurance and pensions (EIOPA) have today issued a pan-EU warning to consumers regarding the risks of buying
Joint ESAs Opinion on the use of innovative solutions in the customer due diligence processes
The Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) published today an Opinion on the use of innovative solutions by credit and financial institutions when complying with their customer due diligence (CDD) obligations. This Opinion is part of the ESAs' wider work on creating a common understanding on the responsible and effective use of innovation by credit and financial institutions, which can enhance their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) controls.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report presenting the conclusions of its assessment on the topic of innovative uses of consumer data by financial institutions. The Report.
EBA Opinion on the Commission's proposal to bring virtual currency entities
In an Opinion issued today, the EBA welcomed the Commission's proposal to bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers within the scope of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering.
Discussion Paper on innovative uses of consumer data by financial institutions
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Discussion Paper on innovative uses of consumer data by financial institutions, in line with its mandate to monitor financial innovation. The paper identifies risks and benefits for consumers and financial institutions, as well as for financial integrity.
04/05/2016 - Press releases
Discussion Paper on automation in financial advice
The Joint Committee of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – has launched a Discussion Paper on automation in financial advice, aimed at assessing what, if any, action is required to harness the potential benefits of this innovation and mitigate its risks.
Opinion on lending based crowdfunding
In an opinion issued today, the European Banking Authority (EBA) recommended that EU legislators clarify the applicability of existing EU law to lending-based crowdfunding.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an Opinion addressed to the EU Council, European Commission and European Parliament setting out the requirements that would be needed to regulate ‘virtual currencies'.
Guidelines on internet payments security
The Guidelines on the security of internet payments are based on the recommendations of the European Forum on the Security of Retail Payments (SecuRe Pay), a voluntary cooperative initiative set up by the ECB and comprising relevant authorities from the European Economic Area (EEA) with the aim of facilitating understanding of issues related to the security of electronic retail payment services.
Warning of the European Banking Authority - Warning to consumers on virtual currencies
The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued today a warning on a series of risks deriving from buying, holding or trading virtual currencies such as Bitcoins.