The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued today an Opinion to the European Commission supporting its proposed amendment to the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on additional collateral outflows with regard to the historical look-back approach (HLBA) calculation method, said EBA in a statement.

The amendment follows the European Commission's request to amend the draft RTS using the specifications provided by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).

The EBA has amended the draft RTS on additional collateral outflows to include the BCBS's HLBA approach which had been clarified by way of a Frequently Asked Question in April 2014. The BCBS approach focuses on the largest net difference in collateral posted instead of the largest gross difference. The Commission's assessment of the draft RTS was delayed pending its adoption of a Delegated Act on the liquidity coverage ratio of October 2014. In December 2015, the Commission raised concerns that the EBA's HLBA approach could have a significant impact on credit institutions and international derivative markets and, therefore, decided not to adopt the draft RTS as it had been submitted by the EBA, but signalled its willingness to endorse an amended version based on the BCBS's HLBA approach.

Background and legal basis

The draft RTS on additional collateral outflows were developed in accordance with Article 423(3) of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and submitted to the Commission for endorsement on 27 March 2014. They define the additional collateral outflows corresponding to collateral needs which would result from the impact of an adverse scenario on an institution's derivatives transactions.

On 3 December 2015, the Commission informed the EBA of its intention not to endorse the draft RTS by acting in accordance with the sixth subparagraph of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.

Source: EBA statement