On 25 August 2026, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published consultation paper on three draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) concerning the reclassification of investment firms as credit institutions.

Background

Under the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) framework, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) investment firms whose total assets exceed €30 billion are generally required to seek authorisation as credit institutions. Amendments made through CRD VI clarified how the relevant asset threshold should be assessed and which entities should be included in the calculation. The EBA’s consultation seeks to update and supplement the existing technical standards.

Summary

  1. Calculation of the €30 billion threshold: The EBA proposes revised rules for calculating total assets. The aim is to ensure that firms apply a consistent methodology when determining whether they exceed the threshold and therefore need to be reclassified as credit institutions. The revised standards reflect the CRD VI amendments that clarified the entities and exposures that must be included in the assessment; in particular, the scope of entities to be considered for the calculation is now limited to those domiciled in the EU, rather than referring to all the entities in the group.
  1. Reporting and threshold monitoring: The EBA also proposes updated reporting requirements for investment firms. These rules are designed to enable competent authorities to monitor firms whose assets approach or exceed the threshold and to identify reclassification issues at an early stage. The RTS are linked to Article 55(5) of the Investment Firms Regulation (IFR), which requires the EBA to specify the reporting framework for investment firms with total assets exceeding €5 billion. The consultation is accompanied by draft reporting templates and related instructions.
  1. Waivers from reclassification: The EBA is also consulting on RTS specifying the factors that national competent authorities should take into account when deciding whether to grant a waiver from the requirement to become a credit institution. Where a waiver is granted, a firm may continue to operate under an investment firm authorisation notwithstanding that it exceeds the €30 billion threshold. The draft RTS seek to promote consistency in supervisory decision-making across the European Union and to ensure that waivers are granted only if justified by the relevant circumstances and risks, including consideration of the nature, size, and complexity of the activities carried out by the requesting undertaking, the systemic and counterparty risk, and the organisational structure of the group.

Next steps

The consultation is open until 25 November 2026. Following consideration of feedback, the EBA is expected to finalise the RTS and submit them to the European Commission for endorsement.