European Banking Authority's Guidelines On Payment Commitments For Deposit Guarantee Schemes Published

On September 14, 2015, the EBA published translated versions, dated September 11, 2015, of its final guidelines on payment commitments under the EU Directive on Deposit Guarantee Schemes. The DGS Directive provides that banks must pre-finance the DGS in its home member state. One of the methods available for such pre-financing is a payment commitment, provided that the total share of payment commitments does not exceed 30 per cent of the total amount of available financial means raised. The EBA guidelines on payment commitments set out the terms to be included in the contractual or statutory arrangements for a bank to provide payment commitments to a DGS, as well as the criteria for eligibility (i.e. sufficiently low risk) and management of the collateral. According to the guidelines, a bank may make payment commitments by either a Payment Commitment Arrangement or a Financial Collateral Arrangement. DGSs, relevant designated authorities, resolution authorities and