PRA policy statement on updates to SS5/21 for international firms and branch reporting

The UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published a final policy statement (PS6/25) alongside a press release, finalising the updates to Supervisory Statement 5/21 (SS 5/21) and branch reporting requirements for international firms operating in the UK. In response to feedback on its July 2024 consultation, the PRA has made several adjustments to the draft policy.

This includes on:

• Branch risk appetite, increasing the existing EUR100 million and EUR500m thresholds around FSCS-covered deposits by 30%. It maintains the proposed new indicative threshold of EUR300m of total retail and small business instant access deposits (though has removed reference to transactional deposits in the context of both deposit thresholds).
• Booking models, clarifying the scope of application for both branches and UK trading banks and improved drafting in areas.
• Branch reporting, providing flexibility on reporting dates where the PRA's Branch Return submission deadlines and the home state supervisor's requirements differ, postponing implementation of revised branch return rules and clarifying expectations around stress scenarios, whole-firm reporting scope and certain reporting definitions. The PRA has also decided to reduce firms' reporting burden by amending the branch return form such that it will only require data on instant access deposit balances and number of customers (removing the obligation to routinely report transactional deposit data, although firms will be required to have the capability to identify transactional accounts if requested by the PRA).

The new rules are effective immediately, although changes related to branch reporting—including the updated policy to SS34/15, revised reporting guidance for the branch return form, and the new branch reporting rules—will come into force on 1 March 2026. Firms should carry out a self-assessment against the revised booking arrangements to a timeline they agree with their PRA supervisory contact.

Return to main website.