The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published the European Supervisory Examination Programme (ESEP) for 2023, which identifies key topics for supervisory attention across the European Union (EU).

The selection of the key topics for supervisory attention for 2023 is based on the EBA`s EU-wide risk analysis, the EBA`s relevant policy work and the practical experience of Competent Authorities. The key topics include:

• Macroeconomic and geopolitical risks;
• Operational and financial resilience;
• Transition risks towards sustainability and digitalisation;
• Money-laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks in the supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP) and internal controls/governance.

The EBA will follow up on how the key topics, put forward by the ESEP, are embedded in competent authorities’ priorities for 2023 as well as how they form part of their supervisory activities throughout the year. The topics identified in the ESEP are also relevant for the work of supervisory colleges as converging practices and methodologies are crucial in the context of cross-border banking groups.

Note to the editors

According to its founding Regulation, the EBA shall contribute to enhancing supervisory convergence across the internal market and it shall play an active role in building a common supervisory culture and consistent supervisory practices throughout the Union. The ESEP is an important element of the EBA supervisory convergence toolkit, which is designed to deliver on this mandate.

The EBA today also published the European Resolution Examination Program (EREP) which is a similar initiative in the resolution domain. While the two examination programmes are independent, they are part of a coordinated initiative to enhance convergence in the EU.