Updated 08/05/2024
In force

Version from: 09/01/2024
Amendments (59)
Q&A under review 2024_7005
Submitted: 13/02/2024
Art. 4
Final Q&A 2013_233
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 26/09/2014
Art. 4(1)
Final Q&A 2013_677
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 03/10/2014
Art. 4(1)
Final Q&A 2016_2676
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 24/06/2016
Art. 4(1)
Final Q&A 2021_5698
Published: 22/12/2022
Art. 4(1)
Final Q&A 2021_6257
Published: 03/03/2023
Art. 4(1)(1)
Rejected Q&A 2018_4279
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(1)
Rejected Q&A 2015_2230
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(1)
Final Q&A 2018_3663
Published: 13/12/2019
Art. 4(1)(2)
Final Q&A 2018_4260
Published: 06/12/2019
Art. 4(1)(4)
Rejected Q&A 2016_2794
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(8)
Rejected Q&A 2018_3694
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(8)
Final Q&A 2013_265
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 20/02/2015
Art. 4(1)(13)
Q&A under review 2021_6082
Submitted: 09/07/2021
Art. 4(1)(15)
Q&A under review 2020_5579
Submitted: 22/10/2020
Art. 4(1)(15), 4(1)(16)
Rejected Q&A 2018_3769
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(18)
Rejected Q&A 2016_2875
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(18), 4(1)(26)
Rejected Q&A 2019_5050
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(18), 4(1)(27)
Final Q&A 2014_796
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 21/11/2014
Art. 4(1)(20)
Rejected Q&A 2024_6980
Published: 01/02/2024
Art. 4(1)(20)
Rejected Q&A 2017_3241
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(26)
Final Q&A 2014_1644
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 28/08/2015
Art. 4(1)(26)
Rejected Q&A 2020_5628
Published: 07/09/2022
Art. 4(1)(26)
Rejected Q&A 2019_4926
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(26)
Rejected Q&A 2022_6405
Published: 20/06/2022
Art. 4(1)(26)
Q&A under review 2023_6875
Submitted: 30/08/2023
Art. 4(1)(26)
Q&A under review 2021_5798
Submitted: 31/03/2021
Art. 4(1)(26)
Final Q&A 2014_857
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 18/07/2014
Art. 4(1)(26), 4(1)(27)
Final Q&A 2014_1530
Published: 04/10/2019
Art. 4(1)(26), 4(1)(27), 4(1)(66)
Rejected Q&A 2020_5122
Published: 31/05/2022
Art. 4(1)(27)
Final Q&A 2018_3762
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 03/05/2019
Art. 4(1)(36)
Q&A under review 2020_5291
Submitted: 05/06/2020
Art. 4(1)(36)
Final Q&A 2013_683
Published: 27/02/2015
Art. 4(1)(39)
Final Q&A 2014_920
Published: 16/01/2015
Art. 4(1)(39)
Final Q&A 2015_1974
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 24/06/2016
Art. 4(1)(39)
Final Q&A 2014_1443
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 24/11/2017
Art. 4(1)(39)
Final Q&A 2016_2923
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 24/11/2017
Art. 4(1)(39)
Final Q&A 2014_1153
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 25/07/2014
Art. 4(1)(52)
Rejected Q&A 2022_6375
Published: 04/09/2023
Art. 4(1)(55)
Rejected Q&A 2022_6376
Published: 04/09/2023
Art. 4(1)(55)
Rejected Q&A 2021_6313
Published: 03/03/2023
Art. 4(1)(57)
Rejected Q&A 2014_786
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(61)
Rejected Q&A 2013_528
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(61)
Final Q&A 2018_3806
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 22/03/2019
Art. 4(1)(61)
Final Q&A 2019_4987
Published: 07/05/2021
Art. 4(1)(61), 4(1)(67)
Final Q&A 2015_2472
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 20/05/2016
Art. 4(1)(62)
Final Q&A 2015_2304
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 03/02/2017
Art. 4(1)(75)
Rejected Q&A 2023_6685
Published: 26/01/2023
Art. 4(1)(75)
Final Q&A 2016_2641
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 06/01/2017
Art. 4(1)(75)
Rejected Q&A 2023_6761
Published: 04/05/2023
Art. 4(1)(75)
Final Q&A 2019_4599
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(78)
Final Q&A 2017_3173
Updated: 16/09/2021
Published: 21/09/2018
Art. 4(1)(79)
Rejected Q&A 2019_4559
Published: 11/02/2022
Art. 4(1)(79)
Final Q&A 2017_3131
Updated: 16/09/2021
Published: 30/06/2017
Art. 4(1)(79)
Rejected Q&A 2024_7011
Published: 15/04/2024
Art. 4(1)(80)
Final Q&A 2015_1757
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 19/06/2015
Art. 4(1)(80)
Rejected Q&A 2024_7012
Published: 15/04/2024
Art. 4(1)(80)
Rejected Q&A 2022_6463
Published: 24/04/2023
Art. 4(1)(85)
Final Q&A 2015_2054
Published: 01/04/2022
Art. 4(1)(85), 4(1)(86)
Final Q&A 2014_1567
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 17/07/2015
Art. 4(1)(109)
Final Q&A 2016_2783
Updated: 26/03/2021
Published: 28/10/2016
Art. 4(1)(114)
Final Q&A 2021_6118
Published: 10/03/2023
Art. 4(1)(140)
Rejected Q&A 2022_6335
Published: 29/04/2022
Art. 4(1)(145)
Final Q&A 2013_37
Published: 31/10/2013
Art. 4(2)(c)
Search within this legal act

Article 4 - Definitions

Article 4

Definitions

1.  

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) 

credit institution’ means an undertaking the business of which consists of any of the following:

(a) 

to take deposits or other repayable funds from the public and to grant credits for its own account;

(b) 

to carry out any of the activities referred to in points (3) and (6) of Section A of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 6 ), where one of the following applies, but the undertaking is not a commodity and emission allowance dealer, a collective investment undertaking or an insurance undertaking:

(i) 

the total value of the consolidated assets of the undertaking is equal to or exceeds EUR 30 billion;

(ii) 

the total value of the assets of the undertaking is less than EUR 30 billion, and the undertaking is part of a group in which the total value of the consolidated assets of all undertakings in that group that individually have total assets of less than EUR 30 billion and that carry out any of the activities referred to in points (3) and (6) of Section A of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU is equal to or exceeds EUR 30 billion; or

(iii) 

the total value of the assets of the undertaking is less than EUR 30 billion, and the undertaking is part of a group in which the total value of the consolidated assets of all undertakings in the group that carry out any of the activities referred to in points (3) and (6) of Section A of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU is equal to or exceeds EUR 30 billion, where the consolidating supervisor, in consultation with the supervisory college, so decides in order to address potential risks of circumvention and potential risks for the financial stability of the Union;

for the purposes of points (b)(ii) and (b)(iii), where the undertaking is part of a third‐country group, the total assets of each branch of the third‐country group authorised in the Union shall be included in the combined total value of the assets of all undertakings in the group;

(2) 

investment firm’ means an investment firm as defined in point (1) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU which is authorised under that Directive but excludes credit institutions;

(3) 

institution’ means a credit institution authorised under Article 8 of Directive 2013/36/EU or an undertaking as referred to in Article 8a(3) thereof;

(5) 

insurance undertaking’ means insurance undertaking as defined in point (1) of Article 13 of Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II) ( 7 );

(7) 

collective investment undertaking’ or ‘CIU’ means a UCITS as defined in Article 1(2) of Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 ) or an alternative investment fund (AIF) as defined in point (a) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 9 );

(8) 

public sector entity’ means a non-commercial administrative body responsible to central governments, regional governments or local authorities, or to authorities that exercise the same responsibilities as regional governments and local authorities, or a non-commercial undertaking that is owned by or set up and sponsored by central governments, regional governments or local authorities, and that has explicit guarantee arrangements, and may include self-administered bodies governed by law that are under public supervision;

(9) 

management body’ means management body as defined in point (7) of Article 3(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(10) 
(11) 

systemic risk’ means systemic risk as defined in point (10) of Article 3(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(12) 

model risk’ means model risk as defined in point (11) of Article 3(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(13) 

originator’ means an originator as defined in point (3) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 ( 10 );

(14) 

sponsor’ means a sponsor as defined in point (5) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402;

(14a) 

original lender’ means an original lender as defined in point (20) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402;

(15) 

parent undertaking’ means:

(a) 
(b) 

for the purposes of Section II of Chapters 3 and 4 of Title VII and Title VIII of Directive 2013/36/EU and Part Five of this Regulation, a parent undertaking within the meaning of Article 1(1) of Directive 83/349/EEC and any undertaking which effectively exercises a dominant influence over another undertaking;

(16) 

subsidiary’ means:

(a) 

a subsidiary undertaking within the meaning of Articles 1 and 2 of Directive 83/349/EEC;

(b) 

a subsidiary undertaking within the meaning of Article 1(1) of Directive 83/349/EEC and any undertaking over which a parent undertaking effectively exercises a dominant influence.

Subsidiaries of subsidiaries shall also be considered to be subsidiaries of the undertaking that is their original parent undertaking;

(17) 

branch’ means a place of business which forms a legally dependent part of an institution and which carries out directly all or some of the transactions inherent in the business of institutions;

(18) 

ancillary services undertaking’ means an undertaking the principal activity of which consists of owning or managing property, managing data-processing services, or a similar activity which is ancillary to the principal activity of one or more institutions;

(19) 

asset management company’ means an asset management company as defined in point (5) of Article 2 of Directive 2002/87/EC or an AIFM as defined in Article 4(1)(b) of Directive 2011/61/EU, including, unless otherwise provided, third-country entities that carry out similar activities and that are subject to the laws of a third country which applies supervisory and regulatory requirements at least equivalent to those applied in the Union;

(20) 

financial holding company’ means a financial institution, the subsidiaries of which are exclusively or mainly institutions or financial institutions, and which is not a mixed financial holding company; the subsidiaries of a financial institution are mainly institutions or financial institutions where at least one of them is an institution and where more than 50 % of the financial institution's equity, consolidated assets, revenues, personnel or other indicator considered relevant by the competent authority are associated with subsidiaries that are institutions or financial institutions;

(25) 

recognised third-country investment firm’ means a firm meeting all of the following conditions:

(a) 

if it were established within the Union, it would be covered by the definition of an investment firm;

(b) 

it is authorised in a third country;

(c) 

it is subject to and complies with prudential rules considered by the competent authorities at least as stringent as those laid down in this Regulation or in Directive 2013/36/EU;

(26) 

financial institution’ means an undertaking other than an institution and other than a pure industrial holding company, the principal activity of which is to acquire holdings or to pursue one or more of the activities listed in points 2 to 12 and point 15 of Annex I to Directive 2013/36/EU, including an investment firm, a financial holding company, a mixed financial holding company, an investment holding company, a payment institution within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 11 ), and an asset management company, but excluding insurance holding companies and mixed‐activity insurance holding companies as defined in points (f) and (g) of Article 212(1) of Directive 2009/138/EC;

(27) 

financial sector entity’ means any of the following:

(a) 
(c) 

an ancillary services undertaking included in the consolidated financial situation of an institution;

(h) 

an insurance holding company as defined in point (f) of Article 212(1) of Directive 2009/138/EC;

(k) 

an undertaking excluded from the scope of Directive 2009/138/EC in accordance with Article 4 of that Directive;

(l) 

a third-country undertaking with a main business comparable to any of the entities referred to in points (a) to (k);

(28) 

parent institution in a Member State’ means an institution in a Member State which has an institution, a financial institution or an ancillary services undertaking as a subsidiary or which holds a participation in an institution, financial institution or ancillary services undertaking, and which is not itself a subsidiary of another institution authorised in the same Member State, or of a financial holding company or mixed financial holding company set up in the same Member State;

(29) 

EU parent institution’ means a parent institution in a Member State which is not a subsidiary of another institution authorised in any Member State, or of a financial holding company or mixed financial holding company set up in any Member State;

(29a) 
(29b) 
(30) 

parent financial holding company in a Member State’ means a financial holding company which is not itself a subsidiary of an institution authorised in the same Member State, or of a financial holding company or mixed financial holding company set up in the same Member State;

(31) 

EU parent financial holding company’ means a parent financial holding company in a Member State which is not a subsidiary of an institution authorised in any Member State or of another financial holding company or mixed financial holding company set up in any Member State;

(32) 

parent mixed financial holding company in a Member State’ means a mixed financial holding company which is not itself a subsidiary of an institution authorised in the same Member State, or of a financial holding company or mixed financial holding company set up in that same Member State;

(33) 

EU parent mixed financial holding company’ means a parent mixed financial holding company in a Member State which is not a subsidiary of an institution authorised in any Member State or of another financial holding company or mixed financial holding company set up in any Member State;

(34) 

central counterparty’ or ‘CCP’ means a CCP as defined in point (1) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012;

(35) 

participation’ means participation within the meaning of the first sentence of Article 17 of Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC of 25 July 1978 on the annual accounts of certain types of companies ( 12 ), or the ownership, direct or indirect, of 20 % or more of the voting rights or capital of an undertaking;

(36) 

qualifying holding’ means a direct or indirect holding in an undertaking which represents 10 % or more of the capital or of the voting rights or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of that undertaking;

(37) 

control’ means the relationship between a parent undertaking and a subsidiary, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 83/349/EEC, or the accounting standards to which an institution is subject under Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002, or a similar relationship between any natural or legal person and an undertaking;

(38) 

close links’ means a situation in which two or more natural or legal persons are linked in any of the following ways:

(a) 

participation in the form of ownership, direct or by way of control, of 20 % or more of the voting rights or capital of an undertaking;

(b) 
(c) 

a permanent link of both or all of them to the same third person by a control relationship;

(39) 

group of connected clients’ means any of the following:

(a) 

two or more natural or legal persons who, unless it is shown otherwise, constitute a single risk because one of them, directly or indirectly, has control over the other or others;

(b) 

two or more natural or legal persons between whom there is no relationship of control as described in point (a) but who are to be regarded as constituting a single risk because they are so interconnected that, if one of them were to experience financial problems, in particular funding or repayment difficulties, the other or all of the others would also be likely to encounter funding or repayment difficulties.

Notwithstanding points (a) and (b), where a central government has direct control over or is directly interconnected with more than one natural or legal person, the set consisting of the central government and all of the natural or legal persons directly or indirectly controlled by it in accordance with point (a), or interconnected with it in accordance with point (b), may be considered as not constituting a group of connected clients. Instead the existence of a group of connected clients formed by the central government and other natural or legal persons may be assessed separately for each of the persons directly controlled by it in accordance with point (a), or directly interconnected with it in accordance with point (b), and all of the natural and legal persons which are controlled by that person according to point (a) or interconnected with that person in accordance with point (b), including the central government. The same applies in cases of regional governments or local authorities to which Article 115(2) applies.

Two or more natural or legal persons who fulfil the conditions set out in point (a) or (b) because of their direct exposure to the same CCP for clearing activities purposes are not considered as constituting a group of connected clients;

(40) 

competent authority’ means a public authority or body officially recognised by national law, which is empowered by national law to supervise institutions as part of the supervisory system in operation in the Member State concerned;

(41) 

consolidating supervisor’ means a competent authority responsible for the exercise of supervision on a consolidated basis in accordance with Article 111 of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(42) 

authorisation’ means an instrument issued in any form by the authorities by which the right to carry out the business is granted;

(43) 

home Member State’ means the Member State in which an institution has been granted authorisation;

(44) 

host Member State’ means the Member State in which an institution has a branch or in which it provides services;

(45) 

ESCB central banks’ means the national central banks that are members of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), and the European Central Bank (ECB);

(46) 

central banks’ means the ESCB central banks and the central banks of third countries;

(47) 

consolidated situation’ means the situation that results from applying the requirements of this Regulation in accordance with Part One, Title II, Chapter 2 to an institution as if that institution formed, together with one or more other entities, a single institution;

(48) 

consolidated basis’ means on the basis of the consolidated situation;

(50) 

financial instrument’ means any of the following:

(a) 

a contract that gives rise to both a financial asset of one party and a financial liability or equity instrument of another party;

(b) 

an instrument specified in Section C of Annex I to Directive 2004/39/EC;

(c) 

a derivative financial instrument;

(d) 
(e) 

a cash instrument.

The instruments referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) are only financial instruments if their value is derived from the price of an underlying financial instrument or another underlying item, a rate, or an index;

(51) 

initial capital’ means the amounts and types of own funds specified in Article 12 of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(52) 

operational risk’ means the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events, and includes legal risk;

(53) 

dilution risk’ means the risk that an amount receivable is reduced through cash or non-cash credits to the obligor;

(54) 

probability of default’ or ‘PD’ means the probability of default of a counterparty over a one-year period;

(55) 

loss given default’ or ‘LGD’ means the ratio of the loss on an exposure due to the default of a counterparty to the amount outstanding at default;

(56) 

conversion factor’ means the ratio of the currently undrawn amount of a commitment that could be drawn and that would therefore be outstanding at default to the currently undrawn amount of the commitment, the extent of the commitment being determined by the advised limit, unless the unadvised limit is higher;

(57) 

credit risk mitigation’ means a technique used by an institution to reduce the credit risk associated with an exposure or exposures which that institution continues to hold;

(58) 

funded credit protection’ means a technique of credit risk mitigation where the reduction of the credit risk on the exposure of an institution derives from the right of that institution, in the event of the default of the counterparty or on the occurrence of other specified credit events relating to the counterparty, to liquidate, or to obtain transfer or appropriation of, or to retain certain assets or amounts, or to reduce the amount of the exposure to, or to replace it with, the amount of the difference between the amount of the exposure and the amount of a claim on the institution;

(59) 

unfunded credit protection’ means a technique of credit risk mitigation where the reduction of the credit risk on the exposure of an institution derives from the obligation of a third party to pay an amount in the event of the default of the borrower or the occurrence of other specified credit events;

(60) 

cash assimilated instrument’ means a certificate of deposit, a bond, including a covered bond, or any other non‐subordinated instrument, which has been issued by an institution or an investment firm, for which the institution or investment firm has already received full payment and which is to be unconditionally reimbursed by the institution or investment firm at its nominal value;

(61) 

securitisation’ means a securitisation as defined in point (1) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402;

(63) 
(65) 

credit enhancement’ means a contractual arrangement whereby the credit quality of a position in a securitisation is improved in relation to what it would have been if the enhancement had not been provided, including the enhancement provided by more junior tranches in the securitisation and other types of credit protection;

(67) 

tranche’ means a tranche as defined in point (6) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402;

(68) 

marking to market’ means the valuation of positions at readily available close out prices that are sourced independently, including exchange prices, screen prices or quotes from several independent reputable brokers;

(69) 

marking to model’ means any valuation which has to be benchmarked, extrapolated or otherwise calculated from one or more market inputs;

(70) 

independent price verification’ means a process by which market prices or marking to model inputs are regularly verified for accuracy and independence;

(71) 

eligible capital’ means the following:

(a) 

for the purposes of Title III of Part Two it means the sum of the following:

(i) 

Tier 1 capital as referred to in Article 25, without applying the deduction in Article 36(1)(k)(i);

(ii) 

Tier 2 capital as referred to in Article 71 that is equal to or less than one third of Tier 1 capital as calculated pursuant to point (i) of this point;

(b) 

for the purposes of Article 97 it means the sum of the following:

(i) 

Tier 1 capital as referred to in Article 25;

(ii) 

Tier 2 capital as referred to in Article 71 that is equal to or less than one third of Tier 1 capital;

(72) 

recognised exchange’ means an exchange which meets all of the following conditions:

(a) 

it is a regulated market or a third‐country market that is considered to be equivalent to a regulated market in accordance with the procedure set out in point (a) of Article 25(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU;

(b) 

it has a clearing mechanism whereby contracts listed in Annex II are subject to daily margin requirements which, in the opinion of the competent authorities, provide appropriate protection;

(73) 

discretionary pension benefits’ means enhanced pension benefits granted on a discretionary basis by an institution to an employee as part of that employee's variable remuneration package, which do not include accrued benefits granted to an employee under the terms of the company pension scheme;

(74) 

mortgage lending value’ means the value of immovable property as determined by a prudent assessment of the future marketability of the property taking into account long-term sustainable aspects of the property, the normal and local market conditions, the current use and alternative appropriate uses of the property;

(75) 

residential property’ means a residence which is occupied by the owner or the lessee of the residence, including the right to inhabit an apartment in housing cooperatives located in Sweden;

(76) 

market value’ means, for the purposes of immovable property, the estimated amount for which the property should exchange on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm's-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion;

(77) 

applicable accounting framework’ means the accounting standards to which the institution is subject under Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 or Directive 86/635/EEC;

(78) 

one-year default rate’ means the ratio between the number of defaults occurred during a period that starts from one year prior to a date T and the number of obligors assigned to this grade or pool one year prior to that date;

(79) 

speculative immovable property financing’ means loans for the purposes of the acquisition of or development or construction on land in relation to immovable property, or of and in relation to such property, with the intention of reselling for profit;

(80) 

trade finance’ means financing, including guarantees, connected to the exchange of goods and services through financial products of fixed short-term maturity, generally of less than one year, without automatic rollover;

(81) 

officially supported export credits’ means loans or credits to finance the export of goods and services for which an official export credit agency provides guarantees, insurance or direct financing;

(82) 

repurchase agreement’ and ‘reverse repurchase agreement’ mean any agreement in which an institution or its counterparty transfers securities or commodities or guaranteed rights relating to title to securities or commodities where that guarantee is issued by a recognised exchange which holds the rights to the securities or commodities and the agreement does not allow an institution to transfer or pledge a particular security or commodity to more than one counterparty at one time, subject to a commitment to repurchase them, or substituted securities or commodities of the same description at a specified price on a future date specified, or to be specified, by the transferor, being a repurchase agreement for the institution selling the securities or commodities and a reverse repurchase agreement for the institution buying them;

(83) 

repurchase transaction’ means any transaction governed by a repurchase agreement or a reverse repurchase agreement;

(84) 

simple repurchase agreement’ means a repurchase transaction of a single asset, or of similar, non-complex assets, as opposed to a basket of assets;

(85) 

positions held with trading intent’ means any of the following:

(a) 

proprietary positions and positions arising from client servicing and market making;

(b) 

positions intended to be resold short term;

(c) 

positions intended to benefit from actual or expected short-term price differences between buying and selling prices or from other price or interest rate variations;

(86) 

trading book’ means all positions in financial instruments and commodities held by an institution either with trading intent or to hedge positions held with trading intent in accordance with Article 104;

(88) 

qualifying central counterparty’ or ‘QCCP’ means a central counterparty that has been either authorised in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 or recognised in accordance with Article 25 of that Regulation;

(89) 

default fund’ means a fund established by a CCP in accordance with Article 42 of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 and used in accordance with Article 45 of that Regulation;

(90) 

pre-funded contribution to the default fund of a CCP’ means a contribution to the default fund of a CCP that is paid in by an institution;

(91) 

trade exposure’ means a current exposure, including a variation margin due to the clearing member but not yet received, and any potential future exposure of a clearing member or a client, to a CCP arising from contracts and transactions listed in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 301(1), as well as initial margin;

(92) 

regulated market’ means regulated market as defined in point (14) of Article 4 of Directive 2004/39/EC;

(93) 

leverage’ means the relative size of an institution's assets, off-balance sheet obligations and contingent obligations to pay or to deliver or to provide collateral, including obligations from received funding, made commitments, derivatives or repurchase agreements, but excluding obligations which can only be enforced during the liquidation of an institution, compared to that institution's own funds;

(94) 

risk of excessive leverage’ means the risk resulting from an institution's vulnerability due to leverage or contingent leverage that may require unintended corrective measures to its business plan, including distressed selling of assets which might result in losses or in valuation adjustments to its remaining assets;

(95) 

credit risk adjustment’ means the amount of specific and general loan loss provision for credit risks that has been recognised in the financial statements of the institution in accordance with the applicable accounting framework;

(96) 

internal hedge’ means a position that materially offsets the component risk elements between a trading book position and one or more non-trading book positions or between two trading desks;

(97) 

reference obligation’ means an obligation used for the purposes of determining the cash settlement value of a credit derivative;

(98) 

external credit assessment institution’ or ‘ECAI’ means a credit rating agency that is registered or certified in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on credit rating agencies ( 13 ) or a central bank issuing credit ratings which are exempt from the application of Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009;

(99) 

nominated ECAI’ means an ECAI nominated by an institution;

(100) 

accumulated other comprehensive income’ has the same meaning as under International Accounting Standard (IAS) 1, as applicable under Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002;

(101) 
(102) 

Tier 1 own-fund insurance items’ means basic own-fund items of undertakings subject to the requirements of Directive 2009/138/EC where those items are classified in Tier 1 within the meaning of Directive 2009/138/EC in accordance with Article 94(1) of that Directive;

(103) 

additional Tier 1 own-fund insurance items’ means basic own-fund items of undertakings subject to the requirements of Directive 2009/138/EC where those items are classified in Tier 1 within the meaning of Directive 2009/138/EC in accordance with Article 94(1) of that Directive and the inclusion of those items is limited by the delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 99 of that Directive;

(104) 

Tier 2 own-fund insurance items’ means basic own-fund items of undertakings subject to the requirements of Directive 2009/138/EC where those items are classified in Tier 2 within the meaning of Directive 2009/138/EC in accordance with Article 94(2) of that Directive;

(105) 

Tier 3 own-fund insurance items’ means basic own-fund insurance items of undertakings subject to the requirements of Directive 2009/138/EC where those items are classified in Tier 3 within the meaning of Directive 2009/138/EC in accordance with Article 94(3) of that Directive;

(106) 

deferred tax assets’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework;

(107) 

deferred tax assets that rely on future profitability’ means deferred tax assets the future value of which may be realised only in the event the institution generates taxable profit in the future;

(108) 

deferred tax liabilities’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework;

(109) 

defined benefit pension fund assets’ means the assets of a defined pension fund or plan, as applicable, calculated after they have been reduced by the amount of obligations under the same fund or plan;

(110) 

distributions’ means the payment of dividends or interest in any form;

(111) 

financial undertaking’ has the same meaning as under points (25)(b) and (d) of Article 13 of Directive 2009/138/EC;

(112) 
(113) 

goodwill’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework;

(114) 

indirect holding’ means any exposure to an intermediate entity that has an exposure to capital instruments issued by a financial sector entity where, in the event the capital instruments issued by the financial sector entity were permanently written off, the loss that the institution would incur as a result would not be materially different from the loss the institution would incur from a direct holding of those capital instruments issued by the financial sector entity;

(115) 

intangible assets’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework and includes goodwill;

(116) 

other capital instruments’ means capital instruments issued by financial sector entities that do not qualify as Common Equity Tier 1, Additional Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruments or Tier 1 own-fund insurance items, additional Tier 1 own-fund insurance items, Tier 2 own-fund insurance items or Tier 3 own-fund insurance items;

(117) 

other reserves’ means reserves within the meaning of the applicable accounting framework that are required to be disclosed under the applicable accounting standard, excluding any amounts already included in accumulated other comprehensive income or retained earnings;

(118) 

own funds’ means the sum of Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital;

(119) 

own funds instruments’ means capital instruments issued by the institution that qualify as Common Equity Tier 1, Additional Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruments;

(120) 

minority interest’ means the amount of Common Equity Tier 1 capital of a subsidiary of an institution that is attributable to natural or legal persons other than those included in the prudential scope of consolidation of the institution;

(121) 

profit’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework;

(122) 

reciprocal cross holding’ means a holding by an institution of the own funds instruments or other capital instruments issued by financial sector entities where those entities also hold own funds instruments issued by the institution;

(123) 

retained earnings’ means profits and losses brought forward as a result of the final application of profit or loss under the applicable accounting framework;

(124) 

share premium account’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework;

(125) 

temporary differences’ has the same meaning as under the applicable accounting framework;

(126) 

synthetic holding’ means an investment by an institution in a financial instrument the value of which is directly linked to the value of the capital instruments issued by a financial sector entity;

(127) 

cross-guarantee scheme’ means a scheme that meets all the following conditions:

(a) 

the institutions fall within the same institutional protection scheme as referred to in Article 113(7) or are permanently affiliated with a network to a central body;

(b) 

the institutions are fully consolidated in accordance with Article 1(1)(b), (c) or (d) or Article 1(2) of Directive 83/349/EEC and are included in the supervision on a consolidated basis of an institution which is a parent institution in a Member State in accordance with Part One, Title II, Chapter 2 of this Regulation and subject to own funds requirements;

(c) 

the parent institution in a Member State and the subsidiaries are established in the same Member State and are subject to authorisation and supervision by the same competent authority;

(d) 

the parent institution in a Member State and the subsidiaries have entered into a contractual or statutory liability arrangement which protects those institutions and in particular ensures their liquidity and solvency, in order to avoid bankruptcy in the case that it becomes necessary;

(e) 

arrangements are in place to ensure the prompt provision of financial means in terms of capital and liquidity if required under the contractual or statutory liability arrangement referred to in point (d);

(f) 

the adequacy of the arrangements referred to in points (d) and (e) is monitored on a regular basis by the competent authority;

(g) 

the minimum period of notice for a voluntary exit of a subsidiary from the liability arrangement is 10 years;

(h) 

the competent authority is empowered to prohibit a voluntary exit of a subsidiary from the liability arrangement;

(128) 

distributable items’ means the amount of the profits at the end of the last financial year plus any profits brought forward and reserves available for that purpose, before distributions to holders of own funds instruments, less any losses brought forward, any profits which are non-distributable pursuant to Union or national law or the institution's by-laws and any sums placed in non-distributable reserves in accordance with national law or the statutes of the institution, in each case with respect to the specific category of own funds instruments to which Union or national law, institutions' by-laws, or statutes relate; such profits, losses and reserves being determined on the basis of the individual accounts of the institution and not on the basis of the consolidated accounts;

(129) 

servicer’ means a servicer as defined in point (13) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402;

(130) 
(130a) 

relevant third-country authority’ means a third-country authority as defined in Article 2(1), point (90), of Directive 2014/59/EU;

(131) 

resolution entity’ means a resolution entity as defined in point (83a) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/59/EU;

(132) 

resolution group’ means a resolution group as defined in point (83b) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/59/EU;

(133) 

global systemically important institution’ or ‘G-SII’ means a G-SII that has been identified in accordance with Article 131(1) and (2) of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(134) 

non-EU global systemically important institution’ or ‘non-EU G-SII’ means a global systemically important banking group or a bank (G-SIBs) that is not a G-SII and that is included in the list of G-SIBs published by the Financial Stability Board, as regularly updated;

(135) 

material subsidiary’ means a subsidiary that on an individual or consolidated basis meets any of the following conditions:

(a) 

the subsidiary holds more than 5 % of the consolidated risk-weighted assets of its original parent undertaking;

(b) 

the subsidiary generates more than 5 % of the total operating income of its original parent undertaking;

(c) 

the total exposure measure, referred to in Article 429(4) of this Regulation, of the subsidiary is more than 5 % of the consolidated total exposure measure of its original parent undertaking;

for the purpose of determining the material subsidiary, where Article 21b(2) of Directive 2013/36/EU applies, the two intermediate EU parent undertakings shall count as a single subsidiary on the basis of their consolidated situation;

(136) 

G-SII entity’ means an entity with legal personality that is a G-SII or is part of a G-SII or of a non-EU G-SII;

(137) 

bail-in tool’ means a bail-in tool as defined in point (57) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/59/EU;

(138) 

group’ means a group of undertakings of which at least one is an institution and which consists of a parent undertaking and its subsidiaries, or of undertakings that are related to each other as set out in Article 22 of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 14 );

(139) 

securities financing transaction’ means a repurchase transaction, a securities or commodities lending or borrowing transaction, or a margin lending transaction;

(140) 

initial margin’ or ‘IM’ means any collateral, other than variation margin, collected from or posted to an entity to cover the current and potential future exposure of a transaction or of a portfolio of transactions in the period needed to liquidate those transactions, or to re-hedge their market risk, following the default of the counterparty to the transaction or portfolio of transactions;

(141) 

market risk’ means the risk of losses arising from movements in market prices, including in foreign exchange rates or commodity prices;

(142) 

foreign exchange risk’ means the risk of losses arising from movements in foreign exchange rates;

(143) 

commodity risk’ means the risk of losses arising from movements in commodity prices;

(144) 

trading desk’ means a well-identified group of dealers set up by the institution to jointly manage a portfolio of trading book positions in accordance with a well-defined and consistent business strategy and operating under the same risk management structure;

(145) 

small and non-complex institution’ means an institution that meets all the following conditions:

(a) 

it is not a large institution;

(b) 

the total value of its assets on an individual basis or, where applicable, on a consolidated basis in accordance with this Regulation and Directive 2013/36/EU is on average equal to or less than the threshold of EUR 5 billion over the four-year period immediately preceding the current annual reporting period; Member States may lower that threshold;

(c) 

it is not subject to any obligations, or is subject to simplified obligations, in relation to recovery and resolution planning in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2014/59/EU;

(d) 

its trading book business is classified as small within the meaning of Article 94(1);

(e) 

the total value of its derivative positions held with trading intent does not exceed 2 % of its total on- and off-balance-sheet assets and the total value of its overall derivative positions does not exceed 5 %, both calculated in accordance with Article 273a(3);

(f) 

more than 75 % of both the institution's consolidated total assets and liabilities, excluding in both cases the intragroup exposures, relate to activities with counterparties located in the European Economic Area;

(g) 

the institution does not use internal models to meet the prudential requirements in accordance with this Regulation except for subsidiaries using internal models developed at the group level, provided that the group is subject to the disclosure requirements laid down in Article 433a or 433c on a consolidated basis;

(h) 

the institution has not communicated to the competent authority an objection to being classified as a small and non-complex institution;

(i) 

the competent authority has not decided that the institution is not to be considered a small and non-complex institution on the basis of an analysis of its size, interconnectedness, complexity or risk profile;

(146) 

large institution’ means an institution that meets any of the following conditions:

(a) 

it is a G-SII;

(b) 

it has been identified as an other systemically important institution (O-SII) in accordance with Article 131(1) and (3) of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(c) 

it is, in the Member State in which it is established, one of the three largest institutions in terms of total value of assets;

(d) 

the total value of its assets on an individual basis or, where applicable, on the basis of its consolidated situation in accordance with this Regulation and Directive 2013/36/EU is equal to or greater than EUR 30 billion;

(147) 

large subsidiary’ means a subsidiary that qualifies as a large institution;

(148) 

non-listed institution’ means an institution that has not issued securities that are admitted to trading on a regulated market of any Member State, within the meaning of point (21) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU;

(149) 

financial report’ means, for the purposes of Part Eight, a financial report within the meaning of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 15 );

(150) 

commodity and emission allowance dealer’ means an undertaking the main business of which consists exclusively of the provision of investment services or activities in relation to commodity derivatives or commodity derivative contracts referred to in points (5), (6), (7), (9) and (10), derivatives of emission allowances referred to in point (4), or emission allowances referred to in point (11) of Section C of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU.

2.  
Where reference in this Regulation is made to immovable property, to residential property or commercial immovable property or to a mortgage on such property, it shall include shares in Finnish residential housing companies operating in accordance with the Finnish Housing Company Act of 1991 or subsequent equivalent legislation. Member States or their competent authorities may allow shares constituting an equivalent indirect holding of immovable property to be treated as a direct holding of immovable property provided that such an indirect holding is specifically regulated in the national law of the Member State concerned and that, when pledged as collateral, it provides equivalent protection to creditors.
3.  
Trade finance as referred to in point (80) of paragraph 1 is generally uncommitted and requires satisfactory supporting transactional documentation for each drawdown request enabling refusal of the finance in the event of any doubt about creditworthiness or the supporting transactional documentation. Repayment of trade finance exposures is usually independent of the borrower, the funds instead coming from cash received from importers or resulting from proceeds of the sales of the underlying goods.
4.  
EBA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying in which circumstances the conditions set out in point (39) of paragraph 1 are met.

EBA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 28 June 2020.

Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.


( 6 ) Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 349).

( 7 )  OJ L 335, 17.12.2009, p. 1.

( 8 ) Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) (OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 32).

( 9 ) Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1).

( 10 ) Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 laying down a general framework for securitisation and creating a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation, and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC, 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 347, 28.12.2017, p. 35).

( 11 ) Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).

( 12 )  OJ L 222, 14.8.1978, p. 11.

( 13 )  OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 1.

( 14 ) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19).

( 15 ) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38).