The National Bank of Moldova has published a draft Executive Committee decision to approve a new regulation setting banks’ own funds requirements for operational risk under the standardized approach, partially transposing relevant provisions of the European Union Capital Requirements Regulation. The package would take effect on 1 January 2027, when the existing 2018 National Bank of Moldova regulation on operational risk treatment would be repealed and related governance and disclosure rules would be amended. The draft regulation would apply to Moldovan-incorporated banks and Moldovan branches of foreign banks, on an individual basis and, where relevant, on a consolidated basis. The operational risk requirement is built on a business indicator calculated from interest, leasing and dividends, services, and financial components using three-year averages, with specified exclusions; it also includes rules for incorporating merged or acquired activities and a prior-approval process to exclude amounts linked to divested activities. For banks with a business indicator of at least MDL 750 million, the framework introduces requirements to calculate annual operational risk loss from net losses above stated thresholds, maintain and continuously update a loss data set with defined gross loss and recovery treatment over a 10-year window, and classify loss events by category; the National Bank of Moldova may grant a derogation from the annual loss calculation requirement for banks with a business indicator not exceeding MDL 1 billion where the burden is deemed unjustified. Banks could also request prior approval to exclude exceptional operational risk events from annual loss calculations, subject to conditions and documentation requirements, with decision timelines set out for the approval process. The draft decision would also update the National Bank of Moldova’s governance framework regulation by revising the definition of operational risk to explicitly include legal risk, model risk and information and communications technology risk, and by adding expectations on banks’ internal thresholds for collecting and analysing operational risk loss data. Disclosure requirements would be adjusted to reflect the new operational risk own funds calculation, with certain existing provisions removed, alongside the overall effective date of 1 January 2027.
National Bank of Moldova 2025-10-13
National Bank of Moldova drafts standardized operational risk capital requirements for banks to take effect in 2027
The National Bank of Moldova released a draft decision to establish new regulations for banks' own funds requirements for operational risk under the standardized approach, partially aligning with the EU Capital Requirements Regulation. Effective 1 January 2027, it applies to Moldovan banks and foreign bank branches, introducing a business indicator-based calculation and specific rules for loss data management. It revises the governance framework to include legal, model, and ICT risks, with updated disclosure requirements.