The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) published its Financial Stability Report, reporting that Belgian banks and insurers remain resilient and setting out changes to macroprudential capital requirements as mortgage portfolio risks ease but international uncertainty remains high. The report says firms have comfortable capital and liquidity positions and continue to deliver generally solid, if unexceptional, results, while caution is still needed because geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around economic policy could affect the Belgian economy and, indirectly, the financial sector. From 1 July 2026, the countercyclical capital buffer will increase from about EUR 2.7 billion to EUR 3.3 billion, while the specific buffer for mortgage portfolio risks, currently about EUR 1.3 billion, will be abolished. Total macroprudential capital requirements will therefore fall from EUR 3.9 billion to EUR 3.3 billion. The NBB kept its prudential expectations for new Belgian mortgage loans introduced in 2020, saying they have improved average credit quality, including by reducing high loan-to-value lending, and that risks in mortgage portfolios have declined in both default probability and loss severity. The report adds that vigilance remains warranted on commercial real estate exposures and that Belgian institutions could still be vulnerable to indirect effects from events such as uncertainty over United States tariffs and the conflict in the Middle East.
National Bank of Belgium2026-05-21
National Bank of Belgium cuts total macroprudential capital requirements to EUR 3.3 billion by removing the mortgage portfolio buffer and raising the countercyclical buffer
The National Bank of Belgium’s Financial Stability Report concludes that Belgian banks and insurers remain resilient and adjusts macroprudential capital requirements as mortgage risks ease amid international uncertainty. From 1 July 2026, the countercyclical capital buffer will rise to EUR 3.3 billion and the EUR 1.3 billion mortgage risk buffer will be abolished, reducing total macroprudential capital requirements to EUR 3.3 billion. The NBB maintained its prudential expectations for new Belgian mortgage loans, citing improved credit quality, while warning that commercial real estate and indirect effects from geopolitical and trade tensions still warrant vigilance.