Scope of application

These guidelines apply in relation to prudential supervision of credit institutions by competent authorities under Directive 2013/36/EU including arrangements for the independence of the members of their staff and of their governance bodies and for managing the conflicts of interest of their members of staff and of the members of a competent authority’s governance body.

F or the purposes of paragraph 6, ‘members of staff’ should be understood as including all persons having an employment relationship with the competent authority who are directly involved in the supervisory function or decision-making in relation thereto, including staff engaged in horizontal or cross-cutting functions, for the purposes of carrying out the functions and duties provided for in Directive 2013/36/EU and in Regulation (EU) No 575/2013⁴ or, in the case of the European Central Bank, Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013. Competent authorities should also apply the guidelines to persons seconded to competent authority on a temporary basis in relation to the activities or functions set out above by putting in place appropriate arrangements. Competent authorities may extend the application of these guidelines to non-staff members carrying out supervisory tasks for the competent authority on a contractual basis and/or put in place appropriate arrangements with service providers.

2 Directive 2013/36/EU, Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Direc-tives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC Text with EEA relevance (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338).

3 JC 2023 17 Joint ESAs Supervisory Independence criteria.pdf

4 Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1).

For the purposes of paragraph 6, where the tasks of the day-to-day management of the supervisory function of the competent authority are entrusted to an executive director or similar position below the level of the most senior collective decision-making body referred to in Article 4a(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU or to members of another collective body, these guidelines should be applied to the executive members of the most senior collective decision-making body that may give instructions to that executive director or members of that other collective body.

Where the most senior collective decision-making body of the competent authority does not differentiate between members who are vested with the power to exercise executive functions regarding the day-to-day management of the supervisory function and non-executive functions, or does not provide for an allocation of tasks and decision-making powers of those members, these guidelines should be applied in relation to all members of that senior decision-making body, excluding governors of central banks.