ECB streamlines supervisory guidance for clarity
The European Central Bank is conducting a comprehensive review of its banking supervision publications to enhance transparency, consistency, and ease of use. This initiative aims to make European banking supervision more efficient, effective, and risk-based.
A clean sweep for 130 documents
The European Central Bank (ECB) is undertaking a comprehensive review of approximately 130 supervisory guides, reports, letters, and methodologies available on its banking supervision website.
This effort is part of a broader reform to make European banking supervision more efficient and risk-based.
These publications explain how the ECB carries out its supervisory tasks and communicate non-binding expectations and good practices.
The review has identified around 40 documents as outdated, superseded, or no longer relevant, which have now been discontinued.
These texts will remain accessible for archival purposes but will be clearly labelled as discontinued.
A limited number of publications have been, or will shortly be, revised to clarify specific aspects or reflect recent regulatory developments, such as the Guide to the internal capital adequacy assessment process and the removal of credit conversion factor content from the Guide to internal models.
Future-proofing the rulebook
Several key publications are slated for more in-depth revisions, accounting for forthcoming legislative developments and stakeholder feedback.
Where substantial changes are required, public consultations will be launched to gather input.
This group includes the Draft guide on governance and risk culture, to be replaced by a good practices report in Q1 2027, aligning with revised EBA Guidelines.
The Guide to licence applications is also being updated for publication in Q3 2026, clarifying procedural matters and referencing EBA Guidelines on authorisation.
Other significant revisions are planned for the Guide on effective risk data aggregation and risk reporting, expected in Q4 2026, and the Guide to on-site inspections, by end-2026.
More clarity, less clutter
This comprehensive review addresses a long-standing issue of fragmented and sometimes contradictory guidance, a common pain point for supervised entities.
While largely an administrative exercise, it signals the ECB's commitment to operational efficiency and a more pragmatic supervisory approach.
For banks, this should reduce compliance costs and improve the predictability of supervisory expectations, fostering a more transparent regulatory environment.