The ECB could have a shock in store for European bank AT1s

The European Commission is due to complete a review of macroprudential provisions in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) by June. If appropriate, it will submit a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and the European Council by December.

At the end of March, the European Central Bank (ECB) provided its 43-page response to the Commission’s call for advice on this review. The central bank discusses ways to increase so-called releasable capital buffers – capital conservation buffers, countercyclical capital buffers and a systemic risk buffer – to address large and disruptive systemic shocks that might hit all or most of the banking union at once.