On June 2, 2016, the EBA published a decision, dated May 31, 2016, on data for supervisory benchmarking under the Capital Requirements Directive. The CRD requires that regulators monitor the range of risk-weighted exposure amounts or own funds requirements, including those relating to transactions in benchmark portfolios resulting from the internal approaches adopted by firms. Regulators are also required to assess, at least annually, the quality of the relevant approaches adopted by institutions. In performing this function, regulators receive benchmarking information and data in accordance with the Benchmarking Implementation Regulation. The EBA is required under the CRD to assist regulators in their assessment with regard to supervisory benchmarking. The Decision follows publication of the amended technical standards on benchmarking of internal approaches and requires regulators to submit data for the 2016 benchmarking exercise. Following delay in the EU's adoption of the Benchmarking Implementation Regulation, the EBA has repealed its previous decision on the topic and replaced it with this decision.

The EBA decision requires regulators to submit to the EBA supervisory and supervisory benchmarking data. Regulators shall submit such data for firms permitted to use internal approaches for the calculations of risk weighted exposure amounts or own fund requirements (except for operational risk). A list of such firms was published. When submitting data to the EBA, regulators will warrant that the data has undergone rigorous internal controls and quality checks. The EBA may conduct additional validations and checks to ensure consistency and may require revisions from regulators.

All data submitted to the EBA, according to the Decision, will be covered by the EU legal framework of professional secrecy and confidentiality, as applicable to the EBA. The Decision states that the EBA will issue annually a calendar including submission dates for regulators, and that regulators must submit all 2015 supervisory and supervisory benchmarking data within 10 business days after June 30, 2016.

The Decision entered into force on May 31, 2016.

The Decision is available at: http://www.eba.europa.eu/documents/10180/1481538/EBA+DC+156+%28Decision +on+Data+for+Supervisory+Benchmarking%29.pdf  and the EBA list of firms is available at: http://www.eba.europa.eu/documents/10180/15926/
EBA+list+of+institutions+for+the+purpose+of+supervisory+benchmarking+%28June+2016%29.pdf.

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