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Q&As refer to the provisions in force on the day of their publication. The EBA does not systematically review published Q&As following the amendment of legislative acts. Users of the Q&A tool should therefore check the date of publication of the Q&A and whether the provisions referred to in the answer remain the same.

Please note that the Q&As related to the supervisory benchmarking exercises have been moved to the dedicated handbook page. You can submit Q&As on this topic here.

List of Q&A's

Partially collateralised loans: CCF - collateral simple method approach

How is the RWA is calculated for the undrawn amount of a partially collateralised loan?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Risk weight for the credit risk of third countries with supervisory and regulatory arrangements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union according to Article 114(7) CRR

If an institution has an exposure to a third country which has supervisory and regulatory arrangements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union (such as Turkey) but do not have fully corresponding liabilities denominated in that currency to cover the entire exposure, what risk weight for the credit risk should assigned to the exposure of this country?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Allocation of direct costs associated with the realisation of funded credit protection in case of partial coverage of an exposure by unfunded credit protection

Does paragraph 38(c) of the EBA/GL/2020/05 require the allocation of direct costs associated with the realisation of the funded credit protection to the part of the exposure that is covered by the funded credit protection?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: EBA/GL/2020/05 - Guidelines on credit risk mitigation for institutions applying the IRB approach with own estimates of LGDs

Application of national decisions pursuant to Article 124(2) CRR

Is it mandatory pursuant to Article 124(5) CRR for an institution in another member state to apply national decisions, which purport to be released pursuant to Article 124(2) CRR, but are not published on the EBA website under Rules and Guidance?Furthermore, if such national decisions are not published under Rules and Guidance, but e.g. under Options and national discretions only, is it mandatory that institutions from other member states apply such decision pursuant to Article 124(5) CRR?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Eligibility of Sovereign Guarantee for which Permanent Partial Use Applies against IRB Exposure

When an institution has received permission for permanent partial use of the Standardised Approach for its home sovereign exposures under Article 150 (d) CRR2, does this violate the stipulation under Article 201(2) CRR2 that a guarantor must be internally rated by the institution where the institution uses the IRB Approach?If it is an eligible guarantee, should the guaranteed portion be risk weighted as a Standardised exposure?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Applicability of Look through Approach to SPV (Article 132 CRR)

May the look-through approach be applied for exposures in Notes issued by a special purpose vehicle, with no tranches, - which is unclear whether it qualifies as an undertaking for collective investment according to the applicable national law -, where the paid out of the each Note are the net proceeds of the loan receivables portfolio allocated to such Note (provided the additional requirements set for the look through approach are duly met)?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Soglia di materialità - Calendar Provisioning - Matheriality threshold - Calendar provisioning

In merito al tema del “Calendar Provisioning” la soglia del 20% stabilita dall’Articolo 47a(3) del Regolamento (EU) No 575/2013 come modificato dal Regolamento 2019/630, sostituisce la soglia di contagio per singolo debitore del 5% attualmente in vigore (e che il 1° gennaio 2021 diventerà dell’1%, vedi Regolamento Delegato (UE) 2018/171)? O si riferisce invece ad altri aspetti? With regard to the subject of ‘calendar provisioning’ is the 20% threshold set in Article 47a(3) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/630 to be considered to replace the contagion threshold for individual debtors of 5% currently in force (and which will become 1% on 1 January 2021 – see Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/171)? Or does it refer to other aspects?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Regulation (EU) 2018/171 - RTS on the materiality threshold for credit obligations past due

Obligor level

When applying the default at obligor level for retail, should a credit institution always consider a specific set of individual obligors that have a joint obligation towards an institution as a different obligor (the unit of default takes into consideration the JCO)? Or is this to be applied only for the materiality threshold?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: EBA/GL/2016/07 - Guidelines on the application of the definition of default under Article 178 CRR

RWA formula for defaulted exposures where institutions use own estimates of LGDs

At which level should the flooring in the RWA formula for defaulted exposures (Articles 153(1)(ii) and 154(1)(i) of CRR2) be applied?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Treatment of loans for LBO financing according to the GLs on high risk items

How should loans which constitute leveraged buyout (LBO) financing be treated according to the Guidelines on  specification of types of exposures to be associated with high risk? Should information, that a loan is collateralised by shares in an unlisted company, have decisive impact on its treatment as potentially being "debt exposure with economic substance similar to non-debt exposure" according to the paragraph 2 of section 4.1 of the Guidelines? 

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: EBA/GL/2019/01 - Guidelines on specification of types of exposures to be associated with high risk under Article 128(3) of CRR

Materiality threshold and calculation method for materiality ratio for the purpose of application of Article 150(1)(c) for types of exposures that are immaterial in terms of size and perceived risk profile

A) Can you please clarify whether the 10%/5% threshold to define materiality for “exposure classes” are valid also as for “types of exposures”? In case not, can you please specify which thresholds should be considered for the abovementioned purpose?B) As for the materiality ratio to be compared against the thresholds can you please clarify how it should be computed with reference to the following points:1. Should the numerator include only the exposures for which the application for PPU is being sought under Article 150 (1) (c) by excluding exposures for which PPU has already been granted pursuant other points of Art 150 (1) and exposures not to be included in the calculation of RWA for equity exposure pursuant to Art. 155 (1) (i.e. Equity exposures risk weighted at 250% in accordance with Art. 48 (4) of Reg. EU 575/2013 and those deducted from CET1 in accordance with Part Two of Reg. EU 575/2013)?2. Should the ratio be computed only at solo level or both at solo and consolidated level, in case an application is limited to only one Legal Entity (LE) of a Large Group?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Maturity of instruments subject to a cash flow schedule

Should an institution that has received the permission of the competent authority to use own LGDs for exposures to corporates, apply the formula in Article 162(2)(a) CRR, for both fixed interest rate and variable interest rate loans, where no change of the cash flow timing is applicable?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Calculation method for materiality ratio to be compared against the 10%/5% threshold for the purpose of application of Article 150(1)(c) for equity exposure class (Permanent Partial Use)

How should a credit institution - with the prior permission to apply the standardised approach permanent partial use (PPU) ex Article 150 CRR for equity exposures - calculate the  threshold as per Article 150(2) CRR?How is the materiality ratio computed? In particular:Should the numerator include only the exposures for which the application for PPU is being sought under Article 150(1)(c) CRR by excluding exposures for which PPU has already been granted pursuant other points of Article 150(1) and exposures not to be included in the calculation of RWA for equity exposure pursuant to Article 155(1) (i.e. Equity exposures risk weighted at 250% in accordance with Article 48(4) of Reg. EU 575/2013 and those deducted from CET1 in accordance with Part Two of Reg. EU 575/2013)?Should the ratio be computed only at solo level or both at solo and consolidated level, in case an application is limited to only one Legal Entity (LE) of a Large Group? 

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Classification of a commitment to make under certain conditions an indemnity payment for a customer

Does a commitment to make under certain conditions an indemnity payment on behalf of a customer constitute an “off-balance sheet item other than those mentioned in (Article 166) paragraphs 1 to 8” according to Article 166(10) CRR?If so, does it constitute a medium/ low risk item according to Article 166(10)(c) CRR, specifically as one of the “other items also carrying medium/low risk and as communicated to EBA” according to Annex I, No. 3(b)(ii) CRR?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Meaning of “portfolio” within “sufficiently diversified portfolios” in Article 155(2)

How should the term “portfolio” be understood in the context of the 190% risk weight for private equity exposures in “sufficiently diversified portfolios” in Article 155(2) of the CRR? Does it refer to the whole institution’s portfolio of private equity? Or to any of the “portfolios” that an institution has identified for internal risk management purposes instead?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Unfunded credit risk mitigation for specialised lending exposures

How should RWA be calculated for unfunded credit risk mitigation when the protected exposure is a specialised lending exposure in respect of which an institution is not able to estimate PDs and used the risk weights in Article 153(5) CRR?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Obligations stemming from "non-credit products"

To what extent do fees stemming from “non-credit products” fall under the notion of para 73 (a) of the EBA Guidelines on PD estimation, LGD estimation and the treatment of defaulted exposures?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: EBA/GL/2017/16 - Guidelines on PD estimation, LGD estimation and the treatment of defaulted exposures

NPE calculations of NPE workout options

Should the NPV calculations that paragraph 143 of the EBA Guidelines on management of non-performing and forborne exposures describes be performed with a risk adjusted discount rate, i.e. the original effective interest rate should not be used for these calculations?

  • Legal act: Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: EBA/GL/2018/06 - Guidelines on management of non-performing and forborne exposures

LGD adjustment for massive disposals.

Article 500, first paragraph, point (c) of the Regulation (EU) 2013/575 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/876 provides for a 20% threshold to qualify disposal operation as “massive”. This question seeks clarification on how to compute the threshold.

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable

Adjustment for massive disposals

Regarding the interpretation of Article 500(1) of the Regulation (EU) 2019/876 amending Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (hereafter “Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 as amended”), do we understand it correctly that:“the average estimated LGDs for comparable exposures in default that have not been finally liquidated” should be derived by applying the estimation method for incomplete recovery processes, which is required under Article 181(1)(a) Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and further explained in paragraphs 158 and 159 of EBA/GL/2017/16, to the disposed assets as of the date just before the disposal;“the average realised LGDs including on the basis of the losses realised due to the massive disposals” should be the average observed LGD for all disposed exposures based on the economic loss of each exposure, taking into account the disposal price as well as material discount effects and material direct and indirect costs associated with collecting on the instrument in line with Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013the adjustment based on Article 500 for all disposed exposures cannot lead to an estimate of average losses for the disposed assets that is lower than the estimated LGD calculated under point (a) above?

  • Legal act: Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
  • COM Delegated or Implementing Acts/RTS/ITS/GLs: Not applicable