EBA publishes report on direct provision of banking services from third countries under CRD VI

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its report under Article 21c(6) of the Capital Requirements Directive VI on whether to amend the provisions governing the direct provision of core banking services from third countries to EU credit institutions and EU financial sector entities (FSEs). In collaboration with the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the EBA conducted a quantitative and qualitative assessment to determine whether third-country undertakings should be allowed to provide core banking services directly to EU FSEs in addition to EU credit institutions without establishing a branch in the EU.

The EBA concludes that there is no current evidence to justify amending the current framework under Article 21c since there is already sufficient flexibility, including exemptions for interbank and intragroup transactions, reverse solicitation and certain MiFID-related services. However, the EBA recommends clarifying the interaction between Article 21c with other sectoral legislation, particularly the Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive frameworks, where EU FSEs may need to access core banking services in third countries to support their business models. The EBA also suggests using its Q&A tool to provide further guidance. The EBA also clarifies the treatment of custody under Article 21c: where custody is ancillary to a MiFID investment service, any related core banking services are not captured by the requirement to establish an EU branch; core banking services related to standalone custody services, however, are not covered by the carve-out.

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