Thomson Reuters Legal Europe has published the annual update (Sept 2026) of CERHA HEMPEL Partner Peter Knobl's survey on banking regulation and CRD VI implementation in Austria.
The Republic of Austria has published the official Government Bill on the CRD VI implementation on 22 Sept 2026. This year’s update by Peter Knobl reflects the CRR III prudential requirements including leverage ratio and output floor limits as well as the Austrian implementation rules on CRD VI including the third-country branch regime, the notification procedures on the acquisition of material holdings, on mergers and divisions and on material transfers of assets or liabilities, all by banks and financial holding companies.
It further describes the new fitness and propriety assessment procedures for all key function holders and board members and the special FMA/ECB ex-ante suitability assessment requirement for the chairperson of the supervisory board and management board members of credit institutions qualifying as “large institutions”. Looking ahead, the CMDI framework including BRRD III, DGSD II and SRMR III, is further covered by the survey. Finally, the European Commission’s 2026 Communication on Competitiveness of the Banking Sector Sector reflecting the “One Europe, One Market Roadmap” and its expected impact on Pillar 2 requirements and macroeconomic buffers, on a potential simplified regime for small and non-complex institutions, on the output floor requirements and on credits towards unrated corporates, are treated with.
Although the EU savings and investment union’s focus on fostering the banking sector’s competitiveness and its “simplicity by design” concentration in 12 areas are welcome targets, banking regulatory legal amendments will nevertheless until further notice continue to enter into force at a fast pace (see e.g. the European Commission’s proposals for the capital market’s integration by a “Master Regulation” and by a “Master Directive”). The Austrian CRD VI implementation bill is expected to enter into force before year-end 2026.
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