On November 11, 2015, the European Central Bank published a consultation on harmonizing the exercise of Options and Discretions (O&Ds) available to EU member state national supervisory authorities under the Capital Requirements Regulation and Capital Requirements Directive, together known as CRD IV. Alongside the consultation, the ECB also published a draft Regulation on the exercise of O&Ds, a draft Guide on available O&Ds, an explanatory note as well as Q&As. An Option can allow a member state or a national regulator to choose how to comply with a given provision of CRD IV, selecting from a range of alternatives set out in such legislation. A Discretion can allow a national regulator or a member state to choose whether or not to apply a certain provision in CRD IV. The aim of the Regulation is to encourage the harmonization of supervision of significant banks in the Euro area, with the aim of safeguarding the financial stability and integration of the EU banking system. Comments on the consultation are due by December 16, 2015.

The consultation and related documents are available at:

https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/legalframework/publiccons/html/reporting_options.en.html.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.