02 June 2020

EBA issues Guidelines to address gaps in reporting data and public information in the context of COVID-19

They are associated with the measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. The Guidelines are needed to ensure that the minimum necessary information is available to monitor and assess risks associated with institutions’ activities, and to strengthen transparency and market discipline.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Guidelines on reporting and disclosure of exposures subject to measures applied in response to the COVID-19 crisis. These Guidelines follow the implementation of a broad range of measures, such as legislative moratoria on loan repayments and public guarantees in Member States, with the aim to support the operational and liquidity challenges faced by borrowers. The Guidelines have been developed to address data gaps associated with such measures to ensure an appropriate understanding of institutions’ risk profile and the asset quality on their balance sheets both for supervisors and the wider public.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, national governments and EU bodies have taken measures to address and mitigate the adverse systemic economic impact of the pandemic on the EU banking sector. In particular, the EBA is engaged in an effort to provide clarity to institutions on the application of prudential and supervisory measures to support lending into the real economy.

In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the measures introduced by authorities in the EU banking sector have created some data gaps in supervisory reporting and disclosure. Whilst the measures are designed to ensure support for EU citizens and business during the crisis, regulators and supervisory authorities still have a responsibility to ensure that information is available to monitor and understand any risks associated with banks’ activities. 

These Guidelines cover information that is crucial for understanding the prudential soundness of individual institutions, without impacting their treatment of creditors under moratoria or public guarantees. The information requested here reflects the type of information that senior managements in institutions are asking for, and is key for understanding the overall financial stability in the EU.

To ensure efficiency, a coordinated EU approach in the collection of additional information is needed. That is why the EBA is introducing, on a temporary basis, additional reporting for the application of the payment moratoria, forbearance measures applied in response to COVID-19 to the existing loans and public guarantees to new lending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the development of these reporting and disclosure templates, the EBA was particularly mindful of the need for proportionality that can take account of the size and complexity of the institutions, as well as of the specificities of the measures introduced in Member States, and institutions’ operational efficiency in current circumstances.

These additional reporting and disclosure requirements are expected to be time-limited as they are introduced strictly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation and remittance date

The first reporting reference date and the disclosure reference date will be 30 June 2020. The reporting guidelines will be part of the version 2.10 reporting framework release that will be published in June 2020.

Legal basis

These Guidelines have been drafted in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (EBA Founding Regulation), which mandates the Authority to issue guidelines addressed to all competent authorities or all financial institutions and issue recommendations to one or more competent authorities or to one or more financial institutions, with a view to establishing consistent, efficient and effective supervisory practices within the ESFS, and to ensuring the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law.

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