Advocating for a global level playing field for banks, the European Banking Federation’s Pillar III Working Group meets on a regular basis to discuss disclosure requirements of banks at global and European level. It delivers well-informed advice to strike the right balance between transparency, simplicity and understandability of public disclosure efforts by banks.

This spring, the EBF Pillar III working group gathered for the seventh time, after four years, at the EBF Brussels offices. The group discussed the European Commission’s recent consultation on Pillar 3 disclosure requirements. Members elaborated their current concerns on introducing the so called standardised approach as a benchmark to calculate risk-weighted assets. Other matters of interest were the implementation of new templates, issued by the Basel Committee, for asset encumbrance as well as credit distribution constraints. While the group agrees with several proposed amendments made to the templates. However, the group expressed recurring doubts about some specific requirements that could impact the level playing field for banks and affecting the comparability of their public information. With the deadline of 26 May, the EBF will finalise together with its members the response to the consultation in the following weeks.

Banks and banking associations represented in the Working Group include the Finnish, French and German banking associations, and HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BBVA, Intesa Sanpaolo.

EBF positions and communucations coming out of this working group will be published on this page.