Branches of third-country groups in the EU are supervised at national level, based on national regulatory requirements. This means that entities belonging to the same third-country group can have different supervisors within the EU and can be subject to different regulatory requirements. The different requirements for third-country branches can create an uneven playing field, preventing supervisors from having a clear overview of the activities of third-country banks in the EU. To address this, the ECB and the affected national supervisors of third-country branches in participating Member States – among which the National bank of Belgium – signed a multilateral memorandum of cooperation on 19 January 2024.

It aims to ensure that all activities of third-country groups in the EU are subject to comprehensive supervision. The memorandum will also help foster the supervisory framework and coordinate activities. It provides ample opportunity for exchanges of information on third-country branches and subsidiaries, including on the licensing of new third-country branches. For third-country groups with a more significant footprint in Member States participating in European banking supervision, the memorandum establishes supervisory fora as a closer form of cooperation among the authorities supervising different entities of the same third-country group. Participating authorities are also expected to hold regular meetings on the activities of third-country groups in their respective jurisdictions.

Memorandum of Cooperation between competent authorities for the performance of their supervisory tasks in relation to the supervision of Third-Country Groups and Third-Country Branches