Minimum requirements for a new supervisory framework for the harmonised oversight of third-country branches (TCBs) in the EU were introduced by Directive (EU) 2024/1619 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 amending Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD VI), which has been transposed into German law through the Banking Directive Implementation and Bureaucracy Relief Act (BRUBEG) as part of the German Banking Act (KWG). These fundamental changes to the supervisory regime are also accompanied by substantial changes in the area of regulatory reporting. A new reporting framework, the “ITS on the Supervisory Reporting of Third Country Branches”, will apply to TCBs in the future.

The new TCB reporting framework of the European Banking Authority (EBA) includes both quantitative (financial and regulatory data) and qualitative information (e.g. supervisory reviews and evaluations, recovery plans, and the business strategy of the head office). This information pertains to both the third-country branch itself and its head undertaking. According to Section 53c(2) of the German Banking Act, the head undertaking is defined as an undertaking which has its head office in a third country and which has established a third-country branch in Germany, and the intermediate or ultimate parent undertakings of that undertaking, as applicable.

The first reporting reference date for the new reporting obligations is expected to be 31 March 2027.