The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a public consultation on draft Guidelines on Ancillary Services Undertakings (ASUs), setting out criteria for identifying the activities referred to in Article 4(1)(18) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (Capital Requirements Regulation). The aim is to support consistent and effective application of the prudential framework by clarifying when entities fall within the scope of prudential consolidation for banking groups. The draft Guidelines specify criteria for identifying activities that qualify as a “direct extension of banking” and those that are “ancillary to banking”. They also describe a process for identifying activities the EBA may consider similar to those listed in Article 4(1)(18), with the stated objective of promoting convergence in institutions’ and supervisors’ approaches and improving comparability of prudential requirements across the EU. The consultation is open until 7 October 2025. A virtual public hearing is scheduled for 2 September 2025 from 10:00 to 11:30 CET, with registration requested by 26 August 2025 at 18:00; the EBA will use the feedback received to finalise the Guidelines and will publish contributions after the consultation closes unless confidentiality is requested.