EBA consults on RTS related to reclassification of investment firms as credit institutions

The European Banking Authority has launched a consultation on three draft RTS related to the reclassification of investment firms as credit institutions, when they exceed the EUR 30bn total assets threshold. 

Background

Under the CRD, investment firms whose consolidated assets are at least EUR 30bn at solo or group level are required to obtain a credit institution authorisation rather than operate under a MiFID investment firm authorisation. 

The proposals:

• clarify how the total assets should be calculated against this threshold – this follows the amendments to the CRD in 2024, which clarified the scope of entities to be included in the calculation of the total assets;
   
• how investment firms should report this information to the authorities in accordance with IFR; and
   
• the factors which NCAs must consider when assessing whether to grant a waiver from the requirement to hold a credit institution authorisation.

Points of interest

• The RTS on the calculation of the EUR 30bn total assets threshold have been previously consulted on but are now being amended. 
   
  • This is to clarify that the group threshold calculation (rather than looking at the global group, as was previously the case) should only take account of:
     
    • the assets of EU undertakings that carry on own account dealing or underwriting / placing on a firm commitment basis (MiFID activities (3) and (6)), including the assets of their third-country branches and subsidiaries, and 
       
    • the assets of EU branches of third-country entities of the same group, where the third country entity has individual total assets of more than EUR 30 bn, and where those EU branches carry on activities (3) or (6) (or where the branch activities are not identified).
       
  • As before, the RTS also set out requirements for firms to undertake asset threshold calculations on a solo basis. As before, in line with the test in Art 8a of CRD, only group entities that carry on activities (3) or (6) and which do not meet the EUR 30bn asset threshold on a solo basis will be included in the group asset threshold calculations above.
     
  • The RTS contains rules about which intragroup exposures are to be excluded from the individual and group asset threshold calculations.
     
  • Under CRD, firms which breach the EUR 30bn threshold (individually or as a group) will need to submit an application for re-authorisation as a credit institution, at the latest, on the day the relevant threshold is breached. Although the Level 1 text phrases the threshold tests by reference to “the average of monthly total assets calculated over a period of 12 consecutive months”, firms would only have to undertake the calculations on a quarterly basis (at the end of March, June, September and December, respectively, in line with the quarterly reporting dates below). The RTS provide that firms can “extrapolate” monthly data from that quarterly data (with the RTS setting out how to do so).
     
• The reporting requirements for the purposes of monitoring these asset thresholds (and related RTS) are relevant to investment firms with total consolidated assets of at least EUR5bn (on a 12-month average). 
   
  • Under the proposed RTS, those firms will be required to submit two quarterly reporting templates providing specific data points to their NCA to enable the NCA to undertake / verify the firm’s / group’s EUR 30 bn asset threshold calculations. 
     
  • The first template includes data for the verification of total assets at individual level and the group test.
     
  • The second template is submitted where a group asset calculation is required (i.e. there are several relevant investment firms in the group which do not meet the EUR 30bn asset threshold on an individual basis). The template covers data in respect of total assets for the group test broken down by entity (i.e. including data for each entity / branch that has to be included in the calculation).
     
  • The reporting templates and instructions can be found in two separate Annexes published alongside the EBA’s CP. 
     
• The draft RTS on the conditions NCAs must consider before waiving the requirement for a firm to be authorised as a credit institution are new. 
   
  • The RTS supplement relevant requirements in CRD, under which NCAs must assess the relevant group’s structure, booking practices and allocation of assets, relevant entity’s business model, the entity’s systemic risk, and the size of its derivatives portfolio (amongst other things). 
     
  • The new RTS set minimum considerations for NCAs assessing a waiver request, with the CP and draft RTS indicating that (amongst other things) complexities of cross-border operations, reliance on intragroup hedging, booking practices which indicate excessive or non-transparent dependencies between group entities, or large amounts of assets held on the firm’s book on behalf of clients may be arguments to reject a waiver request. The RTS also indicates that large exposures of credit institutions towards the entity making the waiver request is a relevant consideration. 
     
  • Importantly, the EBA notes that any waiver application must be submitted alongside the request for re-authorisation as a credit institution. As such, the EBA assumes that (in addition to the considerations expressly required by the new RTS), NCAs will also have access to, and take account of, additional data contained in relevant firms’ authorisation application. 

Next steps

The consultation closes on 25 November 2026.

A public hearing will be held on 30 September 2026 from 10:00 CEST.

The consultation paper is here.  

Annex I (Templates) is here and Annex II (Instructions for the reporting for threshold monitoring purposes) is here.

The EBA press release published on 25 August 2026 is here.