Capital buffer for a systemically important bank

A systemically important bank is a bank whose deterioration of financial condition or failure would have serious negative effects on financial system stability. The capital buffer for a systemically important bank is a macroprudential instrument which imposes an obligation on banks identified as systemically important for a given country to maintain additional Common Equity Tier 1 capital at the level of 0% to 2% of the bank’s risk-weighted assets.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a methodological framework for determining global systemic importance of banks in late 2011, and a framework for identifying the systemic importance of banks at the national level in late 2012. Principles of identification and capital buffers for a systemically important bank were introduced in the EU legal framework through the CRR/CRD IV set of regulations. Based on the above set of regulations, the European Banking Authority published precise guidelines for identifying systemically important financial institutions in 2014. They defined in detail the manner of implementing Article 131 of the Directive on capital requirements for credit institutions (CRD IV), which relates to systemically important financial institutions. In line with the above guidelines, in defining the criteria for determining systemically important banks, at least one of the following criteria must be used: size of a bank, importance for the economy, importance of cross-border activity of a bank, interconnectedness of a bank with the financial system, substitutability of a bank in the financial system or the complexity of a bank. Systemically important banks in Serbia are identified based on the criteria and mandatory indicators set out by the EBA guidelines.

The capital buffer for a systemically important bank applies as of 30 June 2017, and the NBS reviews the capital buffer for systemically important banks at least annually.

Pursuant to the Decision on Establishing a List of Systemically Important Banks in the Republic of Serbia and Capital Buffer Rates for Those Banks of 10 May 2024, the following systemically important banks and the capital buffer rates that these banks are obligated to maintain as of 30 June 2024 have been established.

The Decision on Establishing a List of Systemically Important Banks in the Republic of Serbia and Capital Buffer Rates for Those Banks of 15 June 2023 applies until 29 June 2024.