The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a guide to fit and proper assessments.

The guide is relevant to significant credit institutions that fall under the direct supervision of the ECB and is intended to ensure consistency in the application of the fit and proper assessment criteria, with a view to establishing common supervisory practices for assessing the qualifications, skills and proper standing of a candidate for a position on a bank’s board.

To the extent possible, the guide follows the terminology used in the CRD IV, the European Banking Authority (EBA) guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders and the EBA guidelines on internal governance.

The guide does not advocate any particular governance structure, and is not a legally binding document.

View ECB guide clarifies supervisory criteria and process for determining suitability of banks’ board members, 15 May 2017