On 7 June 2021, the European Banking Authority (EBA) issued its second consultation on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the calculation of the threshold for investment firms.

The draft RTS have been developed for the mandate related to the reclassification of certain investment firms to credit institutions in line with Article 8a(6)(b) of the Capital Requirements Directive IV which requires the EBA to draft RTS on the calculation methodology related to the EUR 30bn threshold for an investment firm to be required to apply for a credit institution authorisation. The draft RTS cover a number of areas relevant for the implementation of this threshold, including the clarification of the notion of consolidated assets, the accounting standards for the determination of asset values, the procedure to calculate the total assets on a monthly basis, the treatment of assets of branches of third country groups.

The consultation runs until 17 July 2021.

The analysis of the responses of the consultation will be communicated in due time in the form of a final report. It is planned for the EBA to submit the RTS in early Q4 2021.

The draft RTS will be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement following which they will be subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council before being published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The RTS will apply 20 days after their publication in the Official Journal.