New Reporting Obligations for Third-Country Branches under CRD VI

The European Banking Authority (“EBA”) published its final report (“Report”) on 5 March 2026 regarding the draft Implementing Technical Standards on the supervisory reporting of third-country branches under the minimum harmonisation regime of CRD VI¹ (“ITS”).

CRD VI introduced an EU harmonised regulatory framework that includes common minimum regulatory requirements for third-country branches (“TCBs”) and that is devised to cater for efficient supervision of TCBs and robust overview (based, among other things, on supervisory and financial reporting requirements) of third-country group activities within the EU. Against that backdrop, the ITS imposes new reporting requirements on TCBs concerning the production of financial and prudential information about the TCBs and their head undertakings². The ITS introduces harmonised formats, definitions and reporting frequencies to ensure consistent and comprehensive reporting across the EU for both branches and their head undertakings.

This newsflash should be read together with our previous newsflashes covering the CRD VI package and its implementation in Luxembourg^3 -4.

Entities in scope

The ITS adopts the principle of proportionality through the classification of TCBs into two categories. This classification aims at adjusting regulatory requirements to the size, complexity and risk profile of TCBs:

-    “Class 1” TCBs must report at least twice a year. Pursuant to Article 48a of CRD VI, these are TCBs that meet any of the following criteria:

• The value of assets booked or originated by the TCB in the previous year is EUR 5 billion or more.
• The branch accepts retail deposits or other repayable funds from retail customers that are at least equal to or greater than 5% of the TCB’s total liabilities, or the total amount of retail deposits exceeds EUR 50 million.
• The TCB is not a qualifying third-country branch as defined in Article 48b of CRD VI.

-    “Class 2” includes any TCB that does not qualify as Class 1 and must report at least once a year.

Reporting

Regulatory requirements are tailored by reference to a risk sensitive supervisory approach. Smaller and less complex TCBs submit a core set of key data, while larger and more complex TCBs report additional details.

There are two sets of regulatory templates: one for TCB-level financial and regulatory information, and one for head undertaking-level quantitative and qualitative data. Some of this information was not previously reported under CRD V.

• Annex 1: templates on the branch’s financial and regulatory situation (capital endowment, balance sheet, profit and loss (P&L), liquidity, large exposures, booking arrangements, etc.).
• Annex 2: templates on the head undertaking (group structure, prudential status, key metrics, intra-group dependencies, booking model, etc.).

All TCBs must submit a core set of data (core + supplement approach). Additional “supplement” templates are required only for Class 1 branches, reflecting their greater systemic relevance and risk. The new regime requires publication of information on the head undertaking, including prudential compliance, group-wide metrics and dependencies. This is a significant extension compared to previous practice.

National specificities for Member States choosing not to adopt and transpose the TCB minimum harmonisation regime of CRD VI⁵

Member States may choose to apply to all or some of their TCBs the same requirements that are applicable to credit institutions authorised under CRD VI. If so, (i) TCBs will adhere to the reporting requirements specified in the EBA reporting framework, rather than the TCB-specific reporting framework under the ITS, (ii) NCAs must ensure that the reporting requirements effectively address the objectives and minimum standards established under the TCB regime of CRD VI and (iii) Member States will still be required to provide for and enforce those TCB-specific reporting obligations.

National specificities for Member States choosing to adopt and transpose the TCB minimum harmonisation regime of CRD VI

NCAs may impose additional reporting requirements for TCBs under national legislation if it is considered that additional information is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the business, activities, or financial soundness of the TCBs or their head undertaking, to verify their compliance with applicable laws, and to ensure the TCBs respect national laws.

Next Steps:

• As a final report, the ITS will be submitted to the European Commission for adoption. Once adopted, the EBA will develop the data point model (DPM), XBRL taxonomy and validation rules. The draft technical package, including the data point model (DPM), XBRL taxonomy and validation rules based on the final draft ITS, is planned for publication by the EBA in Q1 2026.
• The first reporting date has been postponed to 31 March 2027 and some remittance deadlines have been extended compared to the consultation draft. Entities should align their implementation roadmaps with this new start date and ensure timely delivery, as reporting requirements will apply from 31 March 2027.
• Before the new regime comes into force, impacted entities should prepare for compliance by performing a gap analysis between the existing CRD V and/or national branch reporting regime and the new CRD VI TCB reporting regime. Entities should confirm branch classification and identify which “supplement” templates will apply.