Article 141

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Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) > TITLE VII > CHAPTER 4 > Section III > Article 141
Title:
Article 141
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Description: 
Restrictions on distributions
Main content: 
1.  
An institution that meets the combined buffer requirement shall not make a distribution in connection with Common Equity Tier 1 capital to an extent that would decrease its Common Equity Tier 1 capital to a level where the combined buffer requirement is no longer met.
2.  
An institution that fails to meet the combined buffer requirement shall calculate the maximum distributable amount (MDA) in accordance with paragraph 4 and shall notify the competent authority thereof.

Where the first subparagraph applies, the institution shall not undertake any of the following actions before it has calculated the MDA:

(a) 

make a distribution in connection with Common Equity Tier 1 capital;

(b) 

create an obligation to pay variable remuneration or discretionary pension benefits or pay variable remuneration if the obligation to pay was created at a time when the institution failed to meet the combined buffer requirement; or

(c) 

make payments on Additional Tier 1 instruments.

3.  
Where an institution fails to meet or exceed its combined buffer requirement, it shall not distribute more than the MDA calculated in accordance with paragraph 4 through any action referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2.
4.  
Institutions shall calculate the MDA by multiplying the sum calculated in accordance with paragraph 5 by the factor determined in accordance with paragraph 6. The MDA shall be reduced by any amount resulting from any of the actions referred to in point (a), (b) or (c) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2.
5.  

The sum to be multiplied in accordance with paragraph 4 shall consist of:

(a) 

any interim profits not included in Common Equity Tier 1 capital pursuant to Article 26(2) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, net of any distribution of profits or any payment resulting from the actions referred to in point (a), (b) or (c) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article;

plus

(b) 

any year-end profits not included in Common Equity Tier 1 capital pursuant to Article 26(2) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 net of any distribution of profits or any payment resulting from the actions referred to in point (a), (b) or (c) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article;

minus

(c) 

amounts which would be payable by tax if the items specified in points (a) and (b) of this paragraph were to be retained.

6.  

The factor shall be determined as follows:

(a) 

where the Common Equity Tier 1 capital maintained by the institution which is not used to meet any of the own funds requirements set out in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and the additional own funds requirement addressing risks other than the risk of excessive leverage set out in point (a) of Article 104(1) of this Directive, expressed as a percentage of the total risk exposure amount calculated in accordance with Article 92(3) of that Regulation, is within the first (that is, the lowest) quartile of the combined buffer requirement, the factor shall be 0;

(b) 

where the Common Equity Tier 1 capital maintained by the institution which is not used to meet any of the own funds requirements set out in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and the additional own funds requirement addressing risks other than the risk of excessive leverage set out in point (a) of Article 104(1) of this Directive, expressed as a percentage of the total risk exposure amount calculated in accordance with Article 92(3) of that Regulation, is within the second quartile of the combined buffer requirement, the factor shall be 0,2;

(c) 

where the Common Equity Tier 1 capital maintained by the institution which is not used to meet the own funds requirements set out in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and the additional own funds requirement addressing risks other than the risk of excessive leverage set out in point (a) of Article 104(1) of this Directive, expressed as a percentage of the total risk exposure amount calculated in accordance with Article 92(3) of that Regulation, is within the third quartile of the combined buffer requirement, the factor shall be 0,4;

(d) 

where the Common Equity Tier 1 capital maintained by the institution which is not used to meet the own funds requirements set out in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and the additional own funds requirement addressing risks other than the risk of excessive leverage set out in point (a) of Article 104(1) of this Directive, expressed as a percentage of the total risk exposure amount calculated in accordance with Article 92(3) of that Regulation, is within the fourth (that is, the highest) quartile of the combined buffer requirement, the factor shall be 0,6.

The lower and upper bounds of each quartile of the combined buffer requirement shall be calculated as follows:

image

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where:

Qn = the ordinal number of the quartile concerned.

7.  
The restrictions imposed by this Article shall only apply to payments that result in a reduction of Common Equity Tier 1 capital or in a reduction of profits, and where a suspension of payment or failure to pay does not constitute an event of default or a condition for the commencement of proceedings under the insolvency regime applicable to the institution.
8.  

Where an institution fails to meet the combined buffer requirement and intends to distribute any of its distributable profits or undertake an action referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, it shall notify the competent authority and provide the following information:

(a) 

the amount of capital maintained by the institution, subdivided as follows:

(i) 

Common Equity Tier 1 capital,

(ii) 

Additional Tier 1 capital,

(iii) 

Tier 2 capital;

(b) 

the amount of its interim and year-end profits;

(c) 

the MDA calculated in accordance with paragraph 4;

(d) 

the amount of distributable profits it intends to allocate between the following:

(i) 

dividend payments,

(ii) 

share buybacks,

(iii) 

payments on Additional Tier 1 instruments,

(iv) 

the payment of variable remuneration or discretionary pension benefits, whether by creation of a new obligation to pay, or payment pursuant to an obligation to pay created at a time when the institution failed to meet its combined buffer requirements.

9.  
Institutions shall maintain arrangements to ensure that the amount of distributable profits and the MDA are calculated accurately, and shall be able to demonstrate that accuracy to the competent authority on request.
10.  

For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, a distribution in connection with Common Equity Tier 1 capital shall include the following:

(a) 

a payment of cash dividends;

(b) 

a distribution of fully or partly paid bonus shares or other capital instruments referred to in Article 26(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;

(c) 

a redemption or purchase by an institution of its own shares or other capital instruments referred to in Article 26(1)(a) of that Regulation;

(d) 

a repayment of amounts paid up in connection with capital instruments referred to in Article 26(1)(a) of that Regulation;

(e) 

a distribution of items referred to in points (b) to (e) of Article 26(1) of that Regulation.

( 1 ) Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms and amending Council Directive 82/891/EEC, and Directives 2001/24/EC, 2002/47/EC, 2004/25/EC, 2005/56/EC, 2007/36/EC, 2011/35/EU, 2012/30/EU and 2013/36/EU, and Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 648/2012, of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 190).

( 2 ) OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38.

( 3 ) Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/79/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 48).

( 4 ) Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 84).

( 5 ) OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15.

( 6 ) Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84).

( 7 ) Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on the prudential requirements of investment firms and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 575/2013, (EU) No 600/2014 and (EU) No 806/2014 (OJ L 314, 5.12.2019, p. 1).

( 8 ) Directive (EU) 2019/2034 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on the prudential supervision of investment firms and amending Directives 2002/87/EC, 2009/65/EC, 2011/61/EU, 2013/36/EU, 2014/59/EU and 2014/65/EU (OJ L 314, 5.12.2019, p. 64).

( 9 ) Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 73).

( 10 ) OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 48.

( 11 ) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

( 12 ) OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 87.

( 13 ) OJ L 222, 14.8.1978, p. 11.

( 14 ) OJ L 193, 18.7.1983, p. 1.

( 15 ) OJ L 120, 15.5.2009, p. 22.

( 16 ) Commission Directive 2006/73/EC of 10 August 2006 implementing Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive (OJ L 241, 2.9.2006, p. 26).

( 17 ) Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and amending Directives 2009/138/EC and 2013/36/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43).

( 18 ) Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 laying down a general framework for securitisation and creating a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation, and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC and 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 347, 28.12.2017, p. 35).

( 19 ) Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2014 establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (OJ L 225, 30.7.2014, p. 1).

( 20 ) Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market and amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC, 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).