The Single Resolution Board published an interview with Chair Dominique Laboureix in Eurofi magazine arguing that the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) is essential to bank resolvability and financial stability, and that now the Banking Union has reached broad compliance it is “not the time to backtrack” on MREL targets. He frames the next priority as ensuring banks can effectively deploy these resources in stress, which he describes as a central theme of the SRB’s strategy. The interview positions MREL as the European Union’s implementation of the Financial Stability Board’s Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) standard, highlighting two key differences: MREL applies to all banks earmarked for resolution, and it is calibrated to each bank’s resolution strategy and characteristics. It notes that EU G-SIB requirements can look higher than US peers’ on average, while EU banks can meet a large part of MREL with non-subordinated liabilities, and cautions that cross-jurisdiction comparisons are complicated by differences in the calculation of risk-weighted assets and leverage metrics. Laboureix also links MREL to EU crisis-management constraints, including the requirement that shareholders and creditors absorb losses equal to 8% of total liabilities and own funds before solvency support from the Single Resolution Fund, contrasting this with the ability in some jurisdictions to invoke systemic risk exceptions. He adds that Basel III’s stricter risk-weighted assets will mechanically push capital requirements and MREL upward, though MREL should rise less than proportionally due to interactions with other requirements, and points to US debate on expanding TLAC-like requirements through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s long-term debt proposal.
Single Resolution Board 2025-04-09
Single Resolution Board chair calls for maintaining MREL targets and shifting focus to banks’ ability to deploy loss-absorbing capacity in a crisis
Dominique Laboureix, Chair of the Single Resolution Board, stressed in Eurofi magazine the importance of the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) for bank resolvability and financial stability, warning against reducing targets. He noted MREL as the EU's equivalent to the Financial Stability Board's Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) standard, applicable to all banks designated for resolution and tailored to individual strategies. Laboureix also addressed Basel III's impact on capital requirements and MREL, comparing EU and US crisis management and resolution approaches.