The European Commission has issued a public consultation on how the revised bank capital requirements under the Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) and the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) affect lending. Questions the consultation seeks answers to include:

• To what extent have the CRR and CRD IV affected the level of capital held by banks?
• Are all the new requirements under all circumstances proportionate to the risks they were meant to address?
• What impact are the rules having on lending to smaller businesses, and to infrastructure projects?
• Could some of the rules be simplified or differentiated by risk or size, without compromising on their objectives of financial soundness and stability of banks?

The deadline for comments is 7 October 2015.

View How revised bank capital requirements have affected lending: Commission consults, 15 July 2015