On 14 September 2018, the European Central Bank (ECB) launched a public consultation on part 2 of the guide to assessments of license applications (Part 2). Part 2 supplements the Licensing Guide published in March 2018 and both documents should be read together as one guide. Part 2 contains specific guidance on the ECB’s supervisory expectations regarding the capital required for a newly licensed bank and its programme of operations.

Part 2 addresses two core areas:

• capital: supervisors evaluate the amount, quality, origin and composition of an applicant credit institution’s capital. Capital needs are assessed for all applications, and Part 2 outlines factors that will be considered by supervisors such as the quality of capital, and the availability of capital, as well as approaches for different banking structures; and
• programme of operations and structural organisation: after the adoption of the draft regulatory technical standards under article 8 of the Capital Requirements Directive  IV  by the EBA, the information to be provided as part of the licence application will become more specific and cover a wide range of areas. Part 2 provides a non-exhaustive list of the main topics of interest to supervisors in assessing the programme of operations and business plan for applicants.

The deadline for responses to the consultation is 25 October 2018.