MREL requirements 25-29% RWA; bail-in remains key strategy
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its Q4 2025 MREL dashboard, revealing that MREL requirements for banks range from 25% to 29% of risk-weighted assets. Bail-in continues to be the preferred resolution strategy across the EU, with 94 percent of resolution banks by risk-weighted assets adopting this approach.
MREL targets by bank category
The EBA's latest dashboard for Q4 2025 details the binding Minimum Requirement for own funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) across various bank categories.
Requirements are calibrated based on Total Risk Exposure Amount (TREA) plus Combined Buffer Requirement (CBR), or Total Exposure Measure (TEM).
For Global Systemically Important Institutions (G-SIIs), the binding MREL requirement stands at 28.9 percent of TREA, with a subordination requirement of 24.6 percent.
Top-Tier and 'fished' banks face a total MREL of 28.4 percent of TREA, including a 21.4 percent subordination requirement.
Other banks have a slightly lower binding MREL of 24.6 percent of TREA, with 21.7 percent needing to be subordinated.
These figures highlight the differentiated approach to resolution planning, reflecting the systemic importance and complexity of different banking groups.
The report also provides a breakdown of internal MREL (iMREL) requirements for non-resolution entities within these groups, with G-SIIs facing a weighted average iMREL of 25.9 percent of TREA, and Top-Tier/fished banks at 24.6 percent.
Bail-in remains the default strategy
The dashboard underscores that bail-in remains the predominant resolution strategy across the European Union.
Approximately 94 percent of resolution banks, measured by risk-weighted assets, have a bail-in strategy in place.
When considering the number of resolution decisions, 52 percent are based on a bail-in strategy, with 48 percent opting for a transfer strategy.
This preference for bail-in is consistent across most member states and bank types, including G-SIIs and Top-Tier institutions.
The report also distinguishes between Multi-point Entry (MPE) and Single-point Entry (SPE) resolution strategies, with SPE being significantly more prevalent, accounting for 89 percent of risk-weighted assets.
This indicates a clear regulatory direction towards ensuring that failing banks can be resolved without recourse to taxpayer funds.
Clarity, but challenges persist
This EBA dashboard provides crucial transparency on MREL implementation across the EU banking sector.
The strong reliance on bail-in strategies confirms a firm regulatory commitment to burden-sharing for failing institutions.
However, the ongoing need for banks to build and maintain sufficient eligible liabilities, coupled with varying national approaches, suggests that full harmonization and operational readiness for resolution remain complex.