At the end of each month, the SAFE Regulatory Radar highlights a selection of important news and development on financial regulation at the national and EU level.
CMDI: EU Council adopts reform proposals
On 26 March 2026, the Council of the European Union adopted the Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance (CMDI) review package following a trilogue agreement with the European Parliament and the European Commission reached on 25 June 2025. The package amends the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD), the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD), and the Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation (SRMR) (adopted amendments to Directive 2014/59/EU, Directive 2014/49/EU, and Regulation (EU) No 806/2014). The Council presents the reform as a targeted upgrade to make the orderly resolution of small and medium-sized banks more practicable. SAFE researchers Tobias Tröger and Ioannis Asimakopoulos analyze the reforms in SAFE Working Paper No. 418.
Key changes across the three instruments include:
- BRRD: The agreement tightens the Public Interest Assessment (PIA) and simplifies the Least Cost Test (LCT) by capping deposit guarantee scheme (DGS) interventions at the gross amount of covered deposits, while preserving the super-preference of covered deposits within a three-tier creditor hierarchy. It further clarifies the conditions under which DGS contributions may support resolution financing. In resolution, DGS contributions are limited to size thresholds, prior resolution planning status, full use of own funds and eligible liabilities, and quantitative caps.
- DGSD: The framework preserves member state discretion over allowing DGS funding for preventive measures outside resolution, while harmonizing conditions. Strict requirements, such as supervisory oversight, recovery planning, or capital and liquidity commitments. Alternative measures in insolvency may support transfers (including non-covered deposits and certain liabilities) where necessary and proportionate but exclude support for own funds or subordinated liabilities and require competitive, transparent processes. A harmonized least cost test applies across all DGS interventions, limiting support to the lower of covered deposits or the cost implied by the respective measure.
- SRMR: The SRMR amendments align the Banking Union resolution rules with the BRRD amendments by applying more prescriptive conditions for exceptional deposit guarantee scheme (DGS) funding in resolution and by framing Single Resolution Fund (SRF) support as a second line of defense, available only after sufficient bail-in of shareholders and creditors. In addition, the framework introduces a specific internal governance consultation procedure: the Single Resolution Board (SRB) Executive Session must consult the SRB Plenary when adopting guidelines, general instructions and other instruments of general application on how the SRMR will be implemented. This involves presenting a draft to the Plenary, consulting national members, reviewing and discussing comments in Plenary, and then finalizing the instrument in Executive Session with reasons which are summarized in the SRB annual report.
The three acts will enter into force on the twentieth day following publication and will apply, with some exceptions, 24 months after entry into force. While the SRMR amendments will directly apply 24 months after entry into force, member states have the same timeframe to transpose BRRD/DGSD amendments into national law, and the application shall begin simultaneously.
CRD: Final guidelines with implementation standards for third-country branches published
In March 2026, the European Banking Authority (EBA) issued two key implementation pieces for the European Union framework for third-country branches (TCBs) under the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD VI).
On 2 March 2026, the EBA published final Guidelines specifying which instruments TCBs may use to meet the capital endowment requirement under CRD, and the minimum operational conditions to ensure those assets remain unrestrictedly and immediately available, including in a resolution or winding-up scenario. In addition to cash and certain member state sovereign or central bank debt referenced in CRD, the EBA identifies eligible “other instruments” primarily by reference to the 0% risk-weight treatment under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) standardized approach for credit risk. In practice, this includes debt securities issued or guaranteed by regional or local authorities of EU member states, qualifying third-country central, regional, or local governments or central banks, public sector entities, multilateral development banks, and international organizations, provided they receive a 0% risk weight under the CRR standardized approach. The Guidelines also set operational safeguards for the TCBs escrow account, including continuous availability, limits on encumbrance, market-value based valuation (or a simple proxy where no price is available), and monitoring of issuer location, concentration risk and currency consistency against the branch’s liabilities. The Guidelines apply from 11 January 2027.
On 5 March 2026, the EBA published its final report with draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on TCBs supervisory reporting under CRD VI, introducing harmonized templates, definitions and reporting frequencies. TCBs will report two sets of templates covering (i) branch-level financial and regulatory information, and (ii) head-undertaking quantitative and qualitative information, using a proportionate “core + supplement” approach (a core dataset for smaller/less complex branches and additional detail for larger/more complex branches). The reporting package intends to provide supervisors with high-quality information while ensuring proportionality, clarity, and operational feasibility for reporting entities. Following submission to the Commission, the EBA will publish the supporting data point model (DPM) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) taxonomy (and validation rules) in Q2 2026, with reporting applying from 31 March 2027.
Updates
- On 18 March 2026, the European Commission published the “EU Inc.” proposal for a 28th regime which would create an optional, EU-wide corporate legal regime sitting alongside national company forms. Key elements include fully digital company registration within 48 hours, simplified digital procedures across the company life cycle, fully digital insolvency procedures, and application of the “once-only principle”. The European Parliament’s resolution on a 28th regime for corporate law was previously covered in the SAFE Regulatory Radar in January 2026. Despite laudable progress, the proposal risks missing the ambition of creating a unified European regime because key responsibilities will continue to be subject to national law and courts, as Tobias Tröger and co-authors argue.
- On 27 February 2026, European Parliament committees for Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs endorsed a legislative proposal to define small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) as a category between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms, and to extend selected SME mitigating measures to SMCs to avoid “cliff-edge” compliance jumps as firms grow. This is partly based on a recommendation from the Draghi report on EU competitiveness, which was previously covered in the SAFE Regulatory Radar in February 2025.
- On 12 March 2026, ESMA published its report on the Call for Evidence (CfE) on the retail investor journey, summarizing stakeholder feedback on barriers to retail participation in capital markets and on Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) requirements that affect retail investors. The feedback will be taken into account for future technical advice on MiFID II delegated acts and to consider updates to ESMA’s MiFID II guidelines where needed. Read more on EU’s Retail Investment Strategy in the SAFE Regulatory Radar in May 2023.
- On 10 March 2026, the European Commission published a report on preparedness in the EU financial sector, assessing whether the system can continue to deliver critical financial system functions under major disruptions such as geopolitical shocks, cyber incidents and natural hazards. Aspects addressed in the report such as DORA technical standards (SAFE Regulatory Radar in July 2024) and the Single Currency Package on the digital euro and cash access (SAFE Regulatory Radar in July 2023) were previously covered in the Regulatory Radar.
- On 10 March 2026, the European Commission adopted a Commission Delegated Regulation amending the regulatory technical standards (RTS) laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/206, to update legal references and align terminology following amendments to the CRR. This amends the RTS on risk weights and minimum loss-given-default values for immovable property exposures previously covered in the SAFE Regulatory Radar in November 2021.
- On 2 March 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the Final Report on draft RTS on margin transparency requirements. Additionally, ESMA published Final Report on draft RTS on information on clearing fees and associated costs. Both draft RTS will be submitted to the European Commission, which has three months to decide on endorsement as delegated regulations, subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council. Read more on the EMIR review and related clearing reforms in the SAFE Regulatory Radar in November 2024.
Public consultations
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Sara Fadavi is Financial Policy Analyst in the SAFE Policy Center.
