Article 16
Requirement for a cover pool liquidity buffer
1.
Member States shall ensure investor protection by requiring that the cover pool includes at all times a liquidity buffer composed of liquid assets available to cover the net liquidity outflow of the covered bond programme.
2.
The cover pool liquidity buffer shall cover the maximum cumulative net liquidity outflow over the next 180 days.
3.
Member States shall ensure that the cover pool liquidity buffer referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article consists of the following types of assets, segregated in accordance with Article 12 of this Directive:
(a)
assets qualifying as level 1, level 2A or level 2B assets pursuant to the applicable delegated regulation adopted pursuant to Article 460 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, that are valued in accordance with that delegated regulation, and are not issued by the credit institution issuing the covered bonds itself, its parent undertaking, other than a public sector entity that is not a credit institution, its subsidiary or another subsidiary of its parent undertaking or by a securitisation special purpose entity with which the credit institution has close links;
(b)
short-term exposures to credit institutions that qualify for credit quality step 1 or 2, or short-term deposits to credit institutions that qualify for credit quality step 1, 2 or 3, in accordance with point (c) of Article 129(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013.
Member States may restrict the types of liquid assets to be used for the purposes of points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph.
Member States shall ensure that uncollateralised claims from exposures considered in default pursuant to Article 178 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 cannot contribute to the cover pool liquidity buffer.
4.
Where credit institutions issuing covered bonds are subject to liquidity requirements set out in other Union legal acts that result in an overlap with the cover pool liquidity buffer, Member States may decide not to apply the provisions of national law transposing paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 for the period provided for in those Union legal acts. Member States may exercise that option only until the date on which an amendment to those Union legal acts to eliminate the overlap becomes applicable and shall inform the Commission and EBA where they exercise that option.
5.
Member States may allow for the calculation of the principal for extendable maturity structures to be based on the final maturity date in accordance with the contractual terms and conditions of the covered bond.
6.
Member States may provide that paragraph 1 does not apply to covered bonds that are subject to match funding requirements.