Article 3 Entry into force and application
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . 2. This Regulation shall apply from 28 June 2021 with the exceptions listed in paragraphs 3 to 8. 3. The following points of Article 1 of this Regulation shall apply from 27 June 2019: (a) point (1), containing the provisions on scope and on supervisory powers; (b) point (2), containing the definitions, unless they relate exclusively to provisions that apply in accordance with this Article from a different date, in which case they shall apply from such different date; (c) points (3)(b), (6)(c), (8), point (9), as regards Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, point (12), as regards the second subparagraph of Article 18(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, points (14) to (17), (19) to (44), (47), (128) and (129), containing the provisions related to own funds and the provisions on the introduction of the new requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities; (d) point (9), as regards the provisions on the impact of new securitisation rules laid down in Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; (e) point (57), containing the provisions on the risk weights for multilateral development banks, and point (58), containing the provisions on the risk weights for international organisations; (f) point (53), as regards Article 104b of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, points (89) and (90), point (118), as regards Article 430b of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, and point (124), containing the provisions on the reporting requirements for market risk; (g) point (130), containing the provisions on own funds requirements for CCP exposures; (h) point (133), as regards the provisions on massive disposals laid down in Article 500 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; (i) point (134), as regards Article 501b of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, containing the provisions on waiver of reporting; (j) point (144), containing the provisions on the compliance tool; (k) the provisions that require European Supervisory Authorities or the ESRB to submit to the Commission draft regulatory or implementing technical standards and reports, the provisions that require the Commission to produce reports, the provisions that empower the Commission to adopt delegated acts or implementing acts, the provisions on review and on legislative proposals and the provisions that require the European Supervisory Authorities to issue guidelines, namely point (2)(b); point (12), as regards Article 18(9) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (18)(b); point (31), as regards Article 72b(7) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (38), as regards Article 78a(3) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (57)(b); point (60), as regards Article 124(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (63), as regards Article 132a(4) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (67), as regards Article 164(8) and (9) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013); point (74), as regards Article 277(5) and 279a(3) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (89), as regards Article 325(9) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (90), as regards Articles 325u(5), 325w(8), 325ap(3), 325az(8) and (9), 325bd(7), 325be(3), 325bf(9), 325bg(4), 325bh(3), 325bk(3), 325bp(12) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (93), as regards Article 390(9) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (94); point (96), as regards Article 394(4) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (98)(b); point (104), as regards Article 403(4) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (109)(b); point (111)(b); point (118), as regards Articles 430(7) and (8), 430b(6) and Article 430c of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (119), as regards Article 432(1) and (2) and Article 434a of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (123); point (124); point (125); point (134), as regards Article 501a(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (135); point (136); point (137); point (138); point (139); point (140); point (141), as regards Article 514(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (142); and point (143). Without prejudice to point (f) of the first subparagraph, the provisions on disclosure and on reporting shall apply as of the date of application of the requirement to which the disclosure or the reporting relates. 4. The following points of Article 1 of this Regulation shall apply from 28 December 2020: (a) points (6)(a), (6)(b), (6)(d), points (7) and (12), as regards the first subparagraph of Article 18(1) and Article 18(2) to (8) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, containing the provisions on prudential consolidation; (b) point (60), containing the provisions on exposures secured by mortgages on immovable property, point (67), containing the provisions on loss given default, and point (122), containing the provisions on macroprudential or systemic risk identified at the level of a Member State. 5. Point (46)(b) of Article 1 of this Regulation, containing the provisions on the introduction of the new requirement for own funds for G-SIIs, shall apply from 1 January 2022. 6. Point (53), as regards Article 104a of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, and points (55) and (69) of Article 1 of this Regulation, containing the provisions on the introduction of the new own funds requirements for market risk, shall apply from 28 June 2023. 7. Point (18) of Article 1 of this Regulation, as regards point (b) of Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, containing the provision on the exemption from deductions of prudently valued software assets, shall apply from 12 months after the date of entry into force of the regulatory technical standards referred to in Article 36(4) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. 8. Point (126) of Article 1 of this Regulation, containing the provisions on the exemptions from deductions of equity holdings, shall apply retroactively from 1 January 2019.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the Capital Requirements Regulation or CRR) establishes together with Directive 2013/36/EU 2 (the Capital Requirements Directive or CRD) the prudential regulatory framework for credit institutions operating in the Union. The CRR and CRD were adopted in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 financial crisis to enhance the resilience of institutions operating in the EU financial sector, largely based on global standards agreed with the EU’s international partners, in pa rticular the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). The CRR has been subsequently amended to tackle remaining weaknesses in the prudential regulatory framework and to implement some outstanding elements of the global financial services reform that are essential to ensure institutions' resilience. Amongst various subsequent changes, Regulation (EU) 2017/2395 3 has inserted in the CRR transitional arrangements for mitigating the impact on own funds from the introduction of the new accounting standard, the International Financial Reporting Standard – Financial Instruments (IFRS) 9. Regulation (EU) 2019/630 4 has introduced in the CRR a requirement for minimum loss coverage for non-performing exposures (the so-called prudential backstop). Furthermore, Reg ulation (EU) 2019/876 5 (CRR II) has added to the CRR some of the final elements of the international reforms (the finalised Basel III framework), which entail amongst others, a new definition of the leverage ratio and a leverage ratio buffer, which will pr event institutions from excessively increasing leverage. The latter Regulation has also introduced in the CRR more favourable prudential treatments of certain software assets, of certain pension- and salary-backed loans, as well as of loans to small and me dium sized enterprises (SMEs) and infrastructure projects. The severe economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the exceptional containment measures are having a far-reaching impact on the economy. Businesses are facing disruption in supply chains, temporary closures and reduced demand, while households are confronted with unemployment and a fall in income. Public authorities at Union and Member State levels have taken decisive actions to support households and solvent undertakings to withstand this severe but temporary slowdown in economic activity and the liquidity shortages that it will cause. Due to the reforms undertaken in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, credit institutions are today well capitalised and much more resilient than they were in 2008. This enables them to play a key role in managing the economic shock that stems from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, uncertainty related to the pace of recovery of economic activity will inevitably have an impact on the banking sector. In reaction to the new circumstances, competent authorities across the Union have provided temporary capital and operational relief to ensure favourable conditions for credit institutions to continue lending amid COVID-19. It is therefore important that capital is deployed where it is most needed and that the prudential framework interacts smoothly with the various measures that address the COVID-19 pandemic. The CRR offers ample leeway for banks to support public and private initiatives to promote contin ued lending in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, while ensuring a prudent approach. The flexibility embedded in the CRR is described in the Commission Interpretative Communication of 28 April 2020 6 on the application of the accounting and prudential frameworks to facilitate bank lending in the Union amid COVID-19. Besides making full use of the flexibility allowed for in the existing framework, some limited changes to specific aspects of the CRR ar e necessary in order to maximise the capacity of credit institutions to lend and to absorb losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while still ensuring their continued resilience. Moreover, at international level, the BCBS has agreed a one-year delay in t he deadline for implementing the final elements of the Basel III framework, of which some elements had been already incorporated in the CRR 7 , as well as a greater flexibility to the phase-in of the impact of the IFRS 9 on capital . These changes need to be reflected in the existing rules. First, it is necessary to adjust the transitional arrangements that allow credit institutions to alleviate the impact from expected credit-loss (ECL) provisioning under IFRS 9 on their own funds. This adjustment would allow credit institutions to better mitigate the impact of any potential increase in ECL provisioning caused by the deterioration in the credit quality of credit institutions’ exposures due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, to account for the impact of COVID-19 related guarantees, the rules on the minimum loss coverage for non-performing exposures (NPEs) need to be adjusted to extend temporarily the treatment that is currently applicable to NPEs guaranteed or insured by export credit agencies to NPEs that would arise as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and that are covered by the various guarantee schemes that were put in place by Member States. This would recognise the similar characteristics shared by export credit agencies guarantees and COVID-19 related guarantees. Third, the offsetting mechanism associated with the competent authority discretion to allow credit institutions to temporarily exclude exposures in the form of central bank reserves from the calculation of the leverage ratio needs to be modified. This would ensure that liquidity measures provided by central banks in a crisis context would be effectively channelled by credit institutions to the economy. Fourth, it is necessary to defer, in line with the decision of the BCBS, the application date of the new leverage ratio buffer requirement. This would free up credit institutions’ operational capacity and allow them to focus on the more immediate challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth, the application dates of some of the capital benefits envisaged in the CRR but not yet applicable need to be anticipated, namely the provisions on the treatment of certain software assets, the provisions on certain loans backed by pensions or salaries, the revised supporting factor for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and the new supporting factor for infrastructure finance. Advancing the date of application of the two supporting factors, the preferential treatment of certain software assets, and the preferential treatment of certain loans backed by pensions or salaries would free up own funds of institutions, allowing them to boost much needed lending during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. These proposed changes will not fundamentally alter the prudential regulatory framework. They form part of the response of the Commission to address the emergency situation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. These adjustments to the prudential framework would facilitate collective efforts aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic and thus moving towards a fast recovery.
Revised version (Article 3 Entry into force and application):
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . 2. This Regulation shall apply from 28 June 2021 with the exceptions listed in paragraphs 3 to 8. The following points of Article 1 of this Regulation shall apply from 27 June 2019: (a) point (1), containing the provisions on scope and on supervisory powers; (b) point (2), containing the definitions, unless they relate exclusively to provisions that apply in accordance with this Article from a different date, in which case they shall apply from such different date; point (9), as regards the provisions on the impact of new securitisation rules laid down in Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (57), containing the provisions on the risk weights for multilateral development banks, and point (58), containing the provisions on the risk weights for international organisations; (g) point (130), containing the provisions on own funds requirements for CCP exposures; point (133), as regards the provisions on massive disposals laid down in Article 500 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (134), as regards Article 501b of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, containing the provisions on waiver of reporting; (j) point (144), containing the provisions on the compliance tool; Without prejudice to point (f) of the first subparagraph, the provisions on disclosure and on reporting shall apply as of the date of application of the requirement to which the disclosure or the reporting relates. The following points of Article 1 of this Regulation shall apply from 27 June 2020: point (59), as regards the provisions on the treatment of certain loans granted by credit institutions to pensioners or employees laid down in Article 123 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (133), as regards the provisions on adjustment of risk-weighted non-defaulted SME exposures laid down in Article 501 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; point (134), as regards the provisions on adjustment to own funds requirements for credit risk for exposures to entities that operate or finance physical structures or facilities, systems and networks that provide or support essential public services laid down in Article 501a of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. The following points of Article 1 of this Regulation shall apply from 28 December 2020: (b) point (60), containing the provisions on exposures secured by mortgages on immovable property, point (67), containing the provisions on loss given default, and point (122), containing the provisions on macroprudential or systemic risk identified at the level of a Member State. 8. Point (126) of Article 1 of this Regulation, containing the provisions on the exemptions from deductions of equity holdings, shall apply retroactively from 1 January 2019. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.