ECB Monitoring Centre
The ‘ECB Monitoring Centre’ provides ECB supervised banks and non-EU investors with a central point of call for all matters relating to ECB banking supervisory matters.
The complexity of financial market rulemaking and supervision has increased dramatically since the 2008 financial crisis. These developments accumulated in the introduction of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in 2014 whereby the European Central Bank (ECB) – rather than national authorities - leads on the supervision of banking activity in the Eurozone. This dynamic coupled with the effects of greater Eurozone integration and Eurosystem stimulus has fundamentally reshaped the business and supervision of banks for those engaged in or doing banking business through the Eurozone.
In response, Allen & Overy's financial regulatory practice has launched its ‘ECB Monitoring Centre’ based in Frankfurt. Located closely to the ECB itself, the ECB Monitoring Centre will permit A&O to be best placed to assist in coordinating solutions and knowledge-sharing for clients across the Eurozone. It will assist with engagement and facilitating dialogue with the ECB in both its supervisory and monetary policy roles.
Who do we support?
Significant banks in the Eurozone
The ECB Monitoring Centre assists significant credit institutions with transactional, advisory and dispute resolution matters pertaining to their supervision by the ECB.
Investors seeking to do banking business in the Eurozone
Doing banking business in the Eurozone means entering one of the world’s largest and most important banking markets. As of the end of December 2020 there were 327 banking groups and 2,593 stand-alone credit institutions in the EU with a total of €26 trillion of banking assets located in the euro area.
The ECB Monitoring Centre is ideally placed to help investors, intending to acquire or set up a bank in the Eurozone (be it significant or less significant) navigate the prudential regulatory landscape that has been shaped by the ECB for over half a decade.
Read our full overview of Eurozone banking supervision for non-EU investors here >>.
Our offering
Regulatory Advisory Services
- navigating the SSM’s and SRB’s supervisory priorities including the application of the Single Rulebook to ECB supervised entities;
- assistance with the SSM’s Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) and the ECB-led Comprehensive Assessments, including Asset Quality Reviews (AQRs);
- regulatory permissions and approvals relating to capital adequacy, liquidity and/or Eurosystem eligibility of financial instruments with the rules of the ECB’s ‘General Documentation’, including in the context of Eurosystem monetary policy driven collateral operations or the ECB-led asset purchase programme (APP);
- legal entity optimisation and regulatory reform implementation projects whether as ‘change the business’ or ‘run the business’ projects in response to the Single Rulebook;
- designing and delivering governance, risk and compliance processes to meet ECB requirements.
Regulatory Transactions and Authorisation Procedures
- navigating the regulatory and transactional aspects of an acquisition of qualifying holding in Eurozone credit institutions and navigating the shareholder control procedure;
- assistance with authorisation procedures under the SSM across a wide range of banking activities;
- legal assistance in structuring and issuance of financial instruments for prudential capital purposes or to meet loss-absorbency requirements in compliance with Banking Union provisions;
- regulatory and transactional support in relation to management of non-performing exposures and divestments.
Regulatory investigations / enforcement / litigation
- providing specialist regulatory investigations and necessary support in enforcement scenarios and cases before the ECJ
Blog: ECB in focus
Overview of Eurozone banking supervision for non-EU investors
Banking regulation in the Eurozone, as one of the largest banking markets in the world, has been transformed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent euro crises. EU member states agreed in 2014 on the formation of a banking union. This involved the transfer of key supervisory competences to the ECB as part of the SSM and establishment of the SRB responsible for banking resolution under the umbrella of the SRM.
Know-how Services
Newsletter & Briefings
Our monthly regulatory newsletter monitors all relevant developments regarding European regulatory law in English language. Furthermore, we produce detailed briefings to cover key developments in the field of financial regulatory law.
Click here for the current edition of our newsletter (EU version) >>.
Please contact us if you wish to receive our monthly newsletter and briefings.
Trainings and seminars
We regularly offer trainings on the fundamentals of ECB rules, but also related EU laws, including CRR, MiFID and PSD and updates on new developments.
Stay on top of recent developments and subscribe for blog updates on our dedicated ECB in focus blog.
Single Rulebook – Key sources
EBA Interactive Single Rulebook
https://www.eba.europa.eu/regulation-and-policy/single-rulebook/interactive-single-rulebook
Legal Framework for Banking Supervision
ECB Banking Supervision Website
https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html
RegCompliance
We have created an online platform for regulatory law, unique in the European market market, to support practitioners in various ways with the implementation and application of European and national laws, including through a horizon scanning overview and a detailed workflow tool.
If you wish to learn more, please feel free to contact us at any time.
CompareVersions
We have developed an IT tool to create compare versions of key new legal acts. If you wish to learn more about CompareActs, please feel free to contact us at any time.
