1 Application of the proportionality principle

Credit servicers should take into account their size, their internal organisation and the nature, scale, and complexity of their activities when assessing the adequate knowledge and experience of their management and administrative organs, as a whole, and when developing and implementing related policies and processes that ensure that the requirements are met. Credit servicers which service large portfolios of credit or more complex credit should have more sophisticated policies and processes, while smaller credit servicers that service less complex credit may implement simpler policies and processes.

For the purpose of applying the principle of proportionality and in order to ensure the appropriate implementation of the governance requirements of Directive (EU) 2021/2167 as further specified by these Guidelines, the following criteria should be taken into account by credit servicers and competent authorities:

• a. the size of the credit servicer as indicated by the number of staff;
• b. the volume of debt and the number of credit servicing agreements that the credit servicer manages;
• c. the legal form of the credit servicer;
• d. whether the credit servicer is listed or not;
• e. whether or not the credit servicer is part of a group subject to Directive 2013/36/EU on a consolidated basis and, if so, the proportionality assessment for the group;
• f. whether cross-border activities are performed and the size of the operations in each jurisdiction;
• g. the nature and complexity of all business activities the credit servicer performs, and the credit servicer ’ s organisational structure; and
• h. the scope and complexity of existing outsourcing or service provision arrangements with other credit service providers.