Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) – Supervisory fees

KEY POINTS

Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 establishes, in its Article 30, the principle of the payment of supervisory fees. It states that:

• the ECB:
  • levies an annual fee on all banks and branches falling within the scope of European banking supervision to cover the cost of its tasks and responsibilities;
  • establishes how to calculate the fees after conducting public consultations and analysing potential costs and benefits;
  • may require advance payments of the fee based on a reasonable estimate;
• supervisory fees:
  • are based on, and should not be higher than, the ECB’s expenditure on the specific supervisory tasks;
  • are determined by objective criteria linked to the importance and risk profile of the particular credit institution, including its risk weighted assets;
  • national authorities may levy fees under national law for costs they incur.

Regulation (EU) No 1163/2014 (ECB/2014/41) states that:

• the ECB levies an annual supervisory fee from each supervised credit institution or branch (the fee debtor³) established in a participating Member State;
• the annual supervisory fees to be levied on the supervised entities are calculated on the basis of the expenses incurred by the ECB in the relevant fee period that are directly or indirectly related to its supervisory tasks;
• total assets and total risk exposure (each 50%) of the fee debtor determine the annual fees. Specific rules apply to:
  • new supervised entities and entities no longer supervised or whose status has changed;
  • the split of annual costs between significant and less significant supervised entities;
  • the minimum fee component (a fixed 10% of the annual supervisory fee). This may be halved for entities and groups with total assets below specific thresholds;
• the ECB:
  • cooperates with national competent authorities to ensure supervision remains cost-effective and reasonable for all credit institutions and branches;
  • issues fee notices annually to each fee debtor within 6 months of the fee following period and the amount due is to be paid within 35 days of the date of issuance of the fee notice;
  • applies interest on any outstanding amounts of the supervisory fee;
  • may impose sanctions;
  • submits an annual report to the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Commission and Eurogroup.

Decision (EU) 2019/2158 (ECB/2019/38) states that:

• the ECB determines the respective fee factors in accordance with the total risk exposure amount and total assets for supervised entities and groups;
• fee debtors intending to exclude assets and/or risk exposure of subsidiaries in non-participating Member States or in non-EU countries must notify the ECB;
• national competent authorities ensure the quality and reliability of the fee factors they receive in standard templates from fee debtors before submitting them to the ECB.

Total annual supervisory fees

• Starting with 2015 the ECB issues every year a decision on total annual supervisory fees.
• The 2021 decision (Decision (EU) 2021/490) notes that beginning with the 2020 fee period the supervisory fees are levied only after the end of the relevant fee period when the actual annual costs have been determined and that advance payments are no longer required.