The European Banking Authority has published final Guidelines on supervisory independence under the Capital Requirements Directive, setting out how competent authorities should strengthen safeguards against conflicts of interest involving staff and members of their governance bodies. The Guidelines establish minimum harmonised standards for pre-employment, annual and ad hoc declarations of interest, clarify restrictions on trading in financial instruments and related disposal procedures, and set out expectations on cooling-off arrangements, alongside additional transparency requirements for appointments to governance bodies. The framework clarifies that governance body appointments should follow public, objective and non-discriminatory criteria, and that the 14-year tenure cap applies to members appointed after 11 January 2026, excluding periods linked to appointments made before that date. It also requires competent authorities to have internal channels and safeguards for reporting breaches of conflicts of interest rules, and says corrective measures should reflect the impact on supervisory decision-making, the gravity of the breach, whether it was negligent or intentional, and its duration. For holdings that may create conflicts, the Guidelines introduce procedural requirements for prior approval and disposal, while allowing certain limited holdings in mutual or cooperative institutions where these are needed to access normal banking services and do not create material conflicts. Where national law permits cooling-off periods beyond the CRD minimum, the Guidelines set procedures and assessment criteria to support a proportionate and consistent approach across the European Union. The Guidelines will apply two months after their publication in all official languages on the EBA website.
European Banking Authority 2026-04-29
European Banking Authority issues final supervisory independence guidelines on conflicts of interest trading restrictions and cooling off periods
The European Banking Authority has issued final Guidelines on supervisory independence under the Capital Requirements Directive, setting minimum harmonised standards for managing conflicts of interest for staff and governance body members of competent authorities. The Guidelines cover pre-employment, annual and ad hoc declarations of interest, restrictions and disposal procedures for financial instrument holdings, governance body appointment criteria and tenure caps, cooling-off arrangements, and internal reporting and corrective measures for breaches.